One Thing Can Change Everything
by Zanessalover576
Summary: Zac and Vanessa had been dating for several year. Find out what happens when Vanessa finds out that she is pregnant. What will happen to their careers and their lives?
1. I'm Pregnant

It all started when Zac and Vanessa met on the set of High School Musical (do not own). The couple had started dating in the middle of shooting the first installment of the trilogy. Up to this point, everyone thought their lives were perfect. The couple had each other, their family, and their friends. That was all about to change. Zac Efron was in the middle of having press conferences in New York for a new movie that he had just signed for. He had been gone for a week and would be coming back to Los Angeles the week after. Zac missed Vanessa terribly and wished that she could have come to his press conferences with him. Vanessa had told him that she didn't want to get in the way, so Zac went by himself. Vanessa was in Los Angeles and living in a house that she shared with Zac. She hated when Zac had to leave for long periods of time. But, she knew that it was his job. Vanessa dialed Zac's number, anxious to hear her boyfriend's voice, and waited for him to answer the phone.

"Hey sweetheart" Zac answered.

"Hey, how's it going?" Vanessa asked.

"Everything's really crazy right now. I miss you babe" Zac said.

"I miss you too, honey. But in a week, you will be coming home. I can't wait to see you" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to go home and be with his girlfriend.

"I know, I can't wait to see you either. How's LA?" Zac asked.

"It's fine. I went to the studio today" Vanessa said.

"How did it go?" Zac asked.

Vanessa was working on her third album. Zac was so happy when she told him. She had been co writing songs and was very involved in the production of the album.

"It was fine, just really long hours" Vanessa said.

"Don't work yourself too hard, Van" Zac said.

"I know, I just want everything to be perfect. You know me" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, but listen. I have to go but I will call you later okay?" Zac said.

"Okay, I love you Zac" Vanessa said.

"I love you too Van" Zac said.

The couple hung up the phone. The couple couldn't wait to see each other in a week. A week later, Zac was going to the airport to fly back to LA. He went through security quickly and got onto the plane. A few hours later, the plane landed and Zac got off. He collected his suitcase and walked out of the airport and was met by paparazzi. Zac silently cursed himself.

"Zac! How far along is Vanessa? When is the baby due?" the paparazzi yelled.

"She's not pregnant" Zac said.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should take a look at this" a photographer said.

The photographer handed Zac a magazine that said "Zanessa is having a baby". Zac kept walking to the car that was going to bring him home. Security followed Zac and made sure he got into his car safely. Zac sat in the back seat and looked at the magazine that the paparazzi had given him. He read the article and thought it was weird because the tabloids had never mentioned that Vanessa was pregnant before. Zac was pulled out of his thoughts when the driver stopped the car in front of Zac and Vanessa's home. Zac got out of the car with his suitcase and thanked the driver. He walked to the front door and unlocked it and walked in. Zac put his bags down and looked around for his girlfriend.

"Van? I'm home" Zac said.

Zac walked upstairs and went into the master bedroom and saw Vanessa in bed.

"Hey, how was your flight?" Vanessa asked.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly. Vanessa pulled back and smiled.

"It was alright. I got off the plane and a photographer handed me this" Zac said as he gave Vanessa the magazine.

Vanessa looked at the magazine and sighed. She looked up at Zac.

"Babe, the magazine was true" Vanessa said as she looked down at her hands.

Zac looked at Vanessa.

"You're pregnant?" Zac asked softly.

Vanessa nodded. Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's lips again.

"Why didn't you tell me, baby?" Zac asked.

"I was going to tell you when you got home, but I went out and the paparazzi figured it out and they wrote about it. I didn't want you to find out like this" Vanessa said as she wiped a tear away from her eye.

Zac wrapped his arms around Vanessa.

"Hey, it's okay Van. At least you told me now, right? When did you find out?" Zac asked.

"I found out right after you left" Vanessa said as she leaned her head against Zac's chest.

"Do you know how far along you are?" Zac asked.

"Eight weeks" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"I love you Van" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said as she snuggled into her boyfriend's chest.

"I am going to take some time off of work" Zac said.

Vanessa looked up at Zac and sat up.

"Zac, you need to finish this movie. You can't just take time off just because I found out I am pregnant" Vanessa said.

"Van, I don't want to be going back and forth from here to New York while you are here by yourself. I want to be here through everything. I want to experience this pregnancy with you" Zac said as he entwined their fingers together.

"But, you would drop your movie then" Vanessa said.

"I know, but you are more important than my movie. Yes, it's my job, but being away from you for long periods of time is not something I want us to deal with while you are pregnant" Zac said.

Vanessa sighed and nodded.

"You okay?" Zac asked.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa whispered.

Zac looked at Vanessa confused.

"Honey, what are you sorry for? You didn't do anything" Zac said.

"If I hadn't gotten pregnant, you would be working and doing what you love to do. Now, you feel obligated to stay here because I am pregnant" Vanessa said.

Zac sighed and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"Vanessa, I don't feel obligated to stay here. I want to be here with you. I love you so much and I don't want you to go through this alone" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"Alright, so then it's settled. I am going to break my contract and stay here with you" Zac said.

Vanessa snuggled into Zac's chest.

"So you are happy about the baby?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm so happy baby, honestly" Zac said.

"I'm scared" Vanessa said as she looked at Zac.

"Why are you scared Van?" Zac asked.

"I don't know. I mean aren't you? This is our first child. I don't know how to be a mother and I don't know what to expect in the next couple of months" Vanessa said as she leaned against Zac's shoulder.

"Sweetheart, you are going to be an amazing mother. The next few months will be interesting, but just remember I am right next to you and I am going to go through this with you" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac and leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I love you" Vanessa said softly.

Zac smiled.

"I love you too honey. Get some sleep, okay? The baby needs it" Zac said as he kissed her lips.

Vanessa nodded and got under the covers. Zac got into bed and Vanessa snuggled into his side. The next morning, Vanessa woke up to feeling nauseaous. She bolted to the bathroom with Zac right behind her. Vanessa leaned over the toilet and released the remains of her stomach. Zac held her hair and rubbed her back.

"It's okay babe. You are okay" Zac said soothingly.

Once Vanessa had finished, Zac helped Vanessa get up. Vanessa walked to the sink and brushed her teeth and washed her face. She then went over to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around him.

"You okay?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded slightly.

"Do you want me to make you some tea? It may help your stomach" Zac suggested.

"Okay" Vanessa said softly.

"Alright" Zac said as he entwined their fingers together.

The couple walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. Zac picked Vanessa up and set her on the counter. He made Vanessa's tea and handed her a cup. Vanessa took a sip and smiled.

"Thank you" Vanessa said.

"You are welcome. When are we going to tell our parents?" Zac asked.

"I want to tell them as soon as possible" Vanessa said.

"Do you want to go to your parents house first and then drive up to San Luis?" Zac asked.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she wrapped her arms around Zac's neck.

Zac leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"Love you" Zac said.

"Love you too" Vanessa said.

Zac helped Vanessa get off the counter. The couple then left the house and drove to the Hudgens' home. Zac and Vanessa got out of the car and entwined their fingers together. Vanessa rang the doorbell and Gina, Vanessa's mother opened the door.

"Vanessa, Zac! What a surprise! Come on in" Gina said.

Vanessa and Zac hugged and kissed Gina and walked into the house.

"What's going on?" Gina asked.

"We have something to tell you mom, but can you go get dad and Stella?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure" Gina said.

Gina left the room and came back with Greg Hudgens, Vanessa's father and Stella. They all sat down in the living room. Zac and Vanessa entwined their fingers together.

"Okay, we have an announcement to make. Babe, do you want to tell them?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure. Vanessa's pregnant" Zac said.

Everyone's mouth dropped. Silence filled the room and Vanessa looked at Zac.

"I'm sorry. I have to leave" Vanessa said as she ran out of the house.

The Hudgens family and Zac heard the door slam. Zac sighed.

"Zac, we are just in shock. You both are so young" Gina said.

"I know Gina. We are young and we are going to make this work" Zac said.

"What about filming? How are you going to juggle a baby and a movie?" Greg asked.

"I quit my movie yesterday. I want to be with Van as much as possible. I don't want to miss a thing" Zac said.

Gina smiled and looked at Greg.

"I'm going to see if Van is okay and I will be back" Zac said.

"Alright, honey" Gina said.

Zac walked out of the front door and walked to the car. He opened the passenger seat and looked at Vanessa.

"Sweetheart, look at me" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at her boyfriend with tears running down her face.

"Van, your parents are just trying to understand what's going on. They accept it" Zac said.

"Oh yeah, they looked like they accepted it completely" Vanessa said sarcastically.

"Come on, let's go inside. Let your parents explain to you how they feel about it" Zac said.

Vanessa got out of the car and walked with Zac back into the house. Gina smiled at Vanessa.

"Honey, we are happy. It just was a shock to us" Gina said.

"You both are very young, Van. We just didn't know what to think at first, but once the news settled in, we are happy and we support you" Greg said.

Vanessa nodded. Zac rubbed Vanessa's back soothingly. An hour later, Zac and Vanessa left the Hudgens' home and started driving to San Luis Obispo to tell Zac's parents the news. Zac looked at Vanessa, who was leaning her head against the window.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Zac asked.

"Just thinking about my parents reaction" Vanessa said.

"Vanessa, it was just shocking. I mean, both of us were shocked too" Zac said.

"Yeah, but not like that. I would expect it from us because we are going to be parents but my parents reaction just hurt" Vanessa said.

"I know and I am sorry it hurt you" Zac said as he put his hand on Vanessa's.

Zac and Vanessa arrived at Zac's parents house. The couple told them that they were expecting and they were ecstatic. Zac and Vanessa couldn't believe that they were going to have a baby in seven months.


	2. Everything Has Finally Set In

The next morning, Zac woke up and saw Vanessa sleeping. He smiled and kissed her head softly. Zac got out of bed and picked out his clothes and walked into the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Zac got out of the shower and took his shaving cream out of the medicine cabinet. He put the cream on his face and started to shave. Zac was thinking about how Vanessa was pregnant and what would happen in the future. He didn't really have time to think about what was going through his head because he wanted to talk to Vanessa about it and see how she was feeling about all of this. Zac finished shaving and washed his face. He walked out of the bathroom and smiled when he saw Vanessa sitting up in bed.

"Hey gorgeous how are you feeling?" Zac asked as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I'm okay. Morning sickness hasn't hit" Vanessa stopped and got out of bed quickly.

Zac followed her into the bathroom and held her hair as Vanessa regurgitated the remains of her stomach. After she finished, Zac helped Vanessa stand up. Vanessa walked to the sink and washed her face and brushed her teeth. She sighed and looked at Zac. Zac smiled.

"Are you okay?" Zac asked.

"I'm pregnant" Vanessa said as she sat on the bathroom floor.

Vanessa put her head in her hands. Zac heard Vanessa start to cry. He sat down and took Vanessa into his arms.

"Baby, you want to talk about it?" Zac asked.

"Just hold me" Vanessa said.

Zac wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and kissed her cheek. He knew that the news of the pregnancy had finally set in.

"Why did this happen? Our careers just took off and all of the sudden we are going to have a baby. It's just too much right now" Vanessa cried.

"Van, I don't know why it happened. But I know that everything is going to be fine. Yeah, our careers just took off but when something like this happens, we need to do what is best for ourselves. You need to take care of yourself and I am going to help you. I hate seeing you like this, sweetheart" Zac said.

"I know you do. But think of it, Zac. We are going to be parents in seven months. That's scary and I don't think I can handle it" Vanessa said.

"I know we are. I'm just as scared as you Van. But we just need to take everything one day at a time" Zac said.

Vanessa hugged Zac tightly and put her head on his shoulder.

"When is your next doctor's appointment?" Zac asked.

"Tomorrow" Vanessa said.

"Okay. Why don't you take a nap honey? You may feel a little better" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac got off the bathroom floor and helped Vanessa get up. The couple then walked into their bedroom. Zac helped Vanessa get into bed.

"I love you baby" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

"Get some rest" Zac said.

Vanessa closed her eyes and fell asleep. Zac walked out of the bedroom and went downstairs. He picked up his phone and called his brother, Dylan.

"Hello?" Dylan answered.

"Hey, it's me" Zac said.

"Hey how's everything? How's Nessa?" Dylan asked.

"Everything's going okay at the moment. Van is doing okay. This pregnancy is upsetting her, but other than that everything is okay" Zac said.

"Well I am in the neighborhood and I wanted to know if I could stop by. I haven't seen you or Van in a while" Dylan said.

"That would be awesome Dylan! Come on over" Zac said.

"Alright, see you in a few minutes" Dylan said.

Zac hung up the phone and walked upstairs and saw Vanessa looking at her bare stomach.

"How are you feeling?" Zac asked as he put his hand on Vanessa's stomach.

"Okay, just a little tired" Vanessa said as she put her hand on top of Zac's.

"Dylan is coming over and wanted to see you. Is that okay? Or do you just want to hang out up here?" Zac asked softly.

"I'll see Dylan. I haven't seen him in a while" Vanessa said as she sat up.

"Are you sure? I can tell him that you don't feel well" Zac said.

"Babe, I am fine. I promise. I would tell you if I didn't feel well" Vanessa said as she kissed his cheek.

"Okay, I am just making sure" Zac said as he helped Vanessa get off the bed.

Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's neck.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too babe" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

The doorbell rang and the couple pulled away and smiled. Zac and Vanessa walked downstairs and went to the front door. Zac opened the door and smiled when he saw his brother.

"Hey man" Zac said as he shook his brother's hand.

"Hey" Dylan said.

Dylan looked at Vanessa and smiled. He hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"How are you doing, mommy?" Dylan joked.

Vanessa smiled.

"I'm doing okay, Dylan. Morning sickness is killing me, but other than that I am okay" Vanessa said.

"How far along are you?" Dylan asked.

"Eight weeks" Vanessa said.

"Wow, you guys are going to be amazing parents" Dylan said.

"Thanks Dylan, how's everything going with you?" Zac asked.

"Everything is fine. I am just worried about you guys. The paparazzi is going to be all over you when you start showing" Dylan said.

"I know and that scares me. But we will figure it out" Vanessa said as she put her arm around Zac's waist.

Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled.

"What did your parents say when you told them Van?" Dylan asked.

"They were shocked but they are supportive" Vanessa said.

"Are you guys excited?" Dylan asked.

"We are excited, but scared at the same time" Zac said.

Dylan, Zac, and Vanessa talked for a little longer until Dylan left. That night the couple fell asleep and were so happy that they were going to have a baby. The next morning, Vanessa woke up to a familiar wave of nausea. She ran to the bathroom with Zac right behind her. Vanessa threw up everything that was in her stomach. Zac rubbed her back soothingly and tried to get Vanessa to relax. After she finished, Vanessa brushed her teeth and washed her face.

"Are you feeling any better baby?" Zac asked.

"No, I just feel more sick than I did before" Vanessa said.

"Maybe seeing the baby will cheer you up. I know it would make me cheer up" Zac said.

"Maybe" Vanessa said.

"Go get ready to go" Zac said.

"Alright" Vanessa said.

Vanessa took a shower and came out of the bathroom. She saw that Zac wasn't in the bedroom so she went downstairs to find him. Zac turned around when he heard footsteps.

"Feeling better?" Zac asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

"Are you ready to go?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, let's go see the baby" Vanessa said as she took Zac's hand.

Zac and Vanessa walked out of their house and was met by crowds of paparazzi. Zac put his arm around Vanessa and started to walk to the car.

"Guys, we want our privacy. Please get off our property" Zac said as he helped Vanessa get into the car.

Zac closed Vanessa's door and went to the driver's side and got in. Zac looked at Vanessa, who had her face covered and started the car. He then drove out of their driveway. After they got off their street, Vanessa took her sweater, that she used to cover her face off. Zac took her hand.

"Are you okay?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, I have a feeling it's only going to get worse" Vanessa said.

"We need to talk to both of our security teams and set up a plan" Zac said.

"Yeah, I mean when I go into labor, I don't want to go through hoards of paparazzi just to get to the car" Vanessa said.

"Yeah. I will talk to Rob and see what he can do" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac got to the doctor's office and parked his car in the parking lot. Before he got out, he looked around to make sure there were no paparazzi around. Zac then got out of the car and went to Vanessa's side and helped her get out. The couple entwined their fingers and walked into the office. Vanessa signed herself in and sat next to Zac.

"Are you nervous?" Vanessa asked her boyfriend.

"A little bit. You came alone last time so you know what to expect, I don't" Zac said.

Vanessa kissed Zac's cheek softly. A petite nurse with dark brown hair came into the waiting room with a file.

"Vanessa Hudgens?" the nurse called.

Zac and Vanessa stood up and followed the nurse into a room where Vanessa's height, weight, temperature, and blood pressure were taken. The nurse then escorted the couple to an exam room.

"Vanessa, please take all of your clothes off and change into this gown. Dr. Brown will be in soon" the nurse said.

The nurse left the room and Vanessa started taking her clothes off. She put the gown on and looked at Zac.

"Can you tie the back, babe?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure" Zac said.

Vanessa turned around and Zac tied the gown, so that none of Vanessa's skin was showing. Vanessa then sat on the exam table. Zac smiled at Vanessa.

"I don't know why I am so nervous" Vanessa said.

"You have never been pregnant before, Van. Just relax" Zac said.

Vanessa took a deep breath and then relaxed. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brown came into the room.

"Hi Vanessa. You must be Zac" Dr. Brown said looking at Zac.

"Yeah. Hi" Zac said as he shook Dr. Brown's hand.

"How are you feeling Vanessa?" Dr. Brown asked as she sat down on a stool.

"I feel sick. Morning sickness has been really bad" Vanessa said.

"Once you hit four months, the morning sickness will go away. I know it's annoying but think about your baby" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa nodded and looked at Zac, who smiled at her.

"Alright, let's take a look" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa lied down on the exam table and took Zac's hand. Dr. Brown put a blanket over Vanessa's lower body and moved her gown above her bellybutton. Zac looked at Vanessa and couldn't believe how brave she was to be going through this. Dr. Brown squeezed gel onto Vanessa's stomach and took a wand and moved it around. Vanessa, Zac, and Dr. Brown looked at the screen. Dr. Brown stopped moving the wand and pointed to the screen.

"There's your baby, guys" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa and Zac looked at the screen. Vanessa had tears running down her face. They were happy tears of course, but the ultrasound just made the pregnancy more real to the couple. Zac smiled when he saw the baby on the screen. He kissed Vanessa's head softly.

"I love you" Zac said softly.

Vanessa smiled and kissed Zac's cheek.

"You are about 9 weeks right?" Dr. Brown asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

"The baby looks very healthy. There isn't any stress on the baby. He or she looks pretty good. I am going to print these pictures for you and I will be back to examine you" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Dr. Brown left the room. Zac kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I love you so much" Zac said.

"I love you too Zac. I can't believe the baby is really in there" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her stomach.

"I know. I am so excited to meet him or her" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled. Dr. Brown came into the room and gave the sonogram to Zac.

"Okay Vanessa, I need to examine you. Just relax and let your legs fall the sides" Dr. Brown said.

Zac held Vanessa's hand. Vanessa took a deep breath and Dr. Brown examined her.

"Everything looks normal, Vanessa" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"I will see you in a month" Dr. Brown said as she left the room.

"See you then" Vanessa said.

Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled. Vanessa sat up and got off the exam table and got dressed.

"You are so brave. I could never have done that" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled and kissed Zac's lips.

"I couldn't have done it without you" Vanessa said.

"The baby is beautiful, for what we could see" Zac said.

"Yeah, when I am further along, we will be able to see the baby more clearly" Vanessa said as she finished changing.

"You ready to go?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, don't forget the sonogram" Vanessa said.

"I won't" Zac said.

The couple left the doctor's office and drove home. They were so happy that they were able to see the baby and couldn't wait until they got to meet it.


	3. Our Child

Zac and Vanessa got into the car and started to drive home. Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled. He was so happy because now that he saw the baby on the ultrasound, it made him realize that he actually was going to be a father. Zac couldn't believe that he was going to be a father. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Vanessa try to get his attention. Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled and took her hand in his.

"What are you thinking about? You look like you are in deep thought" Vanessa said.

"You know how when you saw the baby for the first time, it kind of just blew your mind and made you think about a lot of stuff?" Zac asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

"I am in that place right now. I am going to be a father to a baby that is inside of you. That just makes me so happy and I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that we are going through this together" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled. She wiped her tears that were falling.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

Zac looked at Vanessa.

"Baby, I love you too. So much" Zac said.

Zac pulled into the driveway and parked his car. He got out and walked to Vanessa's side and helped her get out of the car. Vanessa kissed Zac's lips sweetly.

"You are going to be an amazing daddy" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"You are going to be an amazing mommy, sweetheart" Zac said.

Zac and Vanessa walked into the house and went upstairs. They lied down on their bed and looked at each other.

"My mom wants us all to have dinner. She invited your family" Vanessa said.

"When is this going to happen?" Zac asked as he looked at his girlfriend.

"Tonight" Vanessa said.

"Okay, why don't you take a nap Van? You need your strength" Zac said.

"Okay, wake me up in a little while" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

"I will" Zac said as he got off the bed.

Zac left the room and walked downstairs. An hour later, Vanessa woke up and got out of bed. She walked downstairs and went into the living room where Zac was sitting. Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's shoulders.

"What are you reading baby?" Vanessa asked.

Zac closed his book fast and turned to Vanessa.

"You scared me, Van" Zac said.

Vanessa giggled.

"Sorry, but you didn't answer my question" Vanessa said.

"I am reading about pregnancy" Zac said.

"What about pregnancy?" Vanessa said as she sat next to her boyfriend.

"I am reading about everything. I don't even want to go into the labor and delivery chapter" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled and kissed Zac's cheek.

"Are you scared about the birth?" Vanessa asked.

Zac sighed and looked at Vanessa.

"Be honest" Vanessa said.

"Yes, I am scared. I don't know what to expect Vanessa. I really don't" Zac said.

"Honey, listen to me okay? Everything is going to be fine. The only thing I want is for us to be able to get through this. I want you, me, and our baby to be a family. The birth is the easy part" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her stomach.

Vanessa put Zac's hand on top of hers. Zac smiled.

"I love you and thanks" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled and kissed Zac's lips softly.

"I love you too. Our families are going to be here in a little bit. I am going to take a shower" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Vanessa put her hand on Zac's cheek and ran her fingers through his hair.

"We will talk more after our parents leave, okay?" Vanessa said softly.

"Alright" Zac said.

Vanessa got up and walked upstairs and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Vanessa came out of the bathroom in a white t-shirt and jeans. She put some light makeup on and walked downstairs. Vanessa walked into the kitchen and smiled. Zac was baking. Vanessa knew that when Zac was happy he baked. She walked over to Zac and looked at what he was doing.

"What are we making?" Vanessa asked.

Zac raised his eyebrows. Vanessa smiled and giggled.

"Cookies for later" Zac said.

"Mm. Chocolate chip?" Vanessa asked.

"You already know me too well" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled. The doorbell rang and Vanessa walked to the front door and opened it. The Efron's hugged and kissed Vanessa.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Starla asked.

"I'm feeling alright. Morning sickness has been a pain but Zac has been helping me through it" Vanessa said.

"Speaking of Zac, where is he?" Starla asked.

"I will go get him" Vanessa said as she walked to the kitchen.

Vanessa walked into the kitchen.

"Babe, your parents are here" Vanessa said.

"Okay, I am coming" Zac said as he walked with Vanessa to the living room.

Zac and Vanessa walked into the living room. The Efron's hugged and kissed Zac and all sat down in the living room.

"Are you guys excited about the baby?" Dylan asked.

"We're excited but we don't really know what to expect in the next couple of months" Vanessa said.

"I agree with Van. I mean we are just in the morning sickness phase and so we don't really what else is going to happen" Zac said.

"Are you going to find out what you are having?" Starla asked.

Zac and Vanessa looked at each other and smiled.

"We haven't talked about it" Zac said.

"Did you call your security teams?" David asked.

"I called them both and they said that at the hospital there is going to be no one allowed on the floor where Van is. There is also going to be security in front of the room, just for some added protection" Zac said.

"Okay, at least you got that out of the way" Starla said.

"Yeah, that is one less thing to stress about" Zac said.

"I was more worried about getting from the house to the hospital. The paparazzi watches everything we do and follows us everywhere. I don't want them following us when I am in labor" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, this is private between our families and us. We don't want this to be put on the front cover of a magazine" Zac said.

The doorbell rang and Vanessa walked to the door and answered it. She smiled when she saw her family. They hugged and kissed Vanessa and walked into the house.

"My family is here" Vanessa said.

The Hudgens' family walked into the living room and hugged and kissed the Efron family. Everyone sat down.

"How far along are you, Vanessa?" Gina asked.

"9 weeks" Vanessa said smiling.

"You have a long way to go" Starla said.

Zac smiled and looked at Vanessa. A couple hours later, Zac and Vanessa's families said goodbye to the couple and promised to keep in touch. Zac closed the front door and walked into the living room and saw Vanessa asleep. He smiled and carefully lifted her into his arms.

"Mm" Vanessa mumbled.

"It's okay honey. Go back to sleep. I got you" Zac said.

Zac carried Vanessa upstairs and carefully put her in their bed.

"Zac?" Vanessa asked sleepily.

"Yeah sweetie?" Zac asked as he put the covers over Vanessa's body.

"Thank you for taking care of me and dropping your movie for me. I know I haven't told you that I have appreciated everything that you do, but I really do. I love you" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's head softly.

"I love you so much baby. I am not going to let you go through this alone. You don't need to thank me Van. It's my job as your boyfriend and the father of this baby" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Get some sleep okay? Wake me up if you need anything" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded and snuggled into Zac's chest. The couple fell asleep. The next morning, Vanessa woke up and felt a wave of nausea. She ran to the bathroom with Zac right behind her. Vanessa kneeled down in front of the toilet and released the remains of her stomach. Zac rubbed her back soothingly and kissed her head softly.

"It's okay sweetie, just relax" Zac said.

Vanessa continued to throw up until she gasped for air. She started to cry.

"Baby, it's okay. You are okay. I'm right here" Zac said.

Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac and cried.

"I hate this" Vanessa said.

"I know you do, but it's almost over" Zac said.

"I hate feeling sick every day" Vanessa said.

"How about you just relax today, okay? I will do everything for you" Zac said.

"No baby. You do too much for me already" Vanessa said.

"Van, come on. Let me do it, please" Zac said.

"Fine" Vanessa said.

"Thank you. Stay in bed and let me know if you need anything" Zac said.

"Okay. Can I have a kiss?" Vanessa asked.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's lips passionately. Vanessa pulled back and smiled.

"Anything else?" Zac asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"Zac, I don't know if it's safe for the baby" Vanessa said.

"Do you want me to call Dr. Brown and ask?" Zac asked.

"That's so awkward, Zac" Vanessa said laughing.

"Hey, you are the one that wants to know" Zac said.

Vanessa sighed.

"Let's just wait until my next appointment okay? I'm sorry" Vanessa said.

"Van, what are you sorry for? You not knowing if it's safe to have sex is not your fault. Don't think that" Dr. Brown said.

"I know you want to have sex" Vanessa said.

"Babe, if you can't or don't want to have sex, it will not offend me. I want you and the baby to be safe. That overrules everything" Zac said.

"I'm still sorry" Vanessa said.

Zac put his hand on Vanessa's stomach and felt a little bulge. He moved Vanessa's shirt up and saw a little baby bump forming on his girlfriend's stomach. Zac kissed Vanessa's stomach softly and looked up at her.

"The bump is growing" Zac said.

"Yeah, I noticed it earlier. It sucks that I am going to be fat" Vanessa said.

Zac looked at Vanessa.

"Van, you are not going to be fat. You are pregnant. There is a big difference. Plus, you will always be perfect to me" Zac said.

"You are just saying that because you have to" Vanessa said.

"No, I am not. This, is our baby. We made him or her. You don't even know how sexy you are" Zac said.

"Zac, stop" Vanessa giggled.

"It's true though" Zac said.

"Okay, fine. Will you still love me when my bump grows even more?" Vanessa asked.

"Sweetheart, I will love you no matter what. Looks are not everything to me, you know that" Zac said.

"I know, but everyone is going to say that you shouldn't be with me because I am like this" Vanessa said.

"Vanessa, you know that I love you no matter what. Pregnant or not. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love you very much" Zac said.

"I love you too. So about last night, your mom asked if we were going to find out what we were having. Do you want to find out or do you want to wait until the baby is born?" Vanessa asked.

"I mean it would be kind of cool to find out when the baby is born. I don't know. What do you think?" Zac asked.

"I like your idea. It will be a surprise and more special for both of us" Vanessa said.

"So then you want to do that?" Zac asked.

"Yeah. Also, back to what we were talking about last night, what else is on your mind?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm scared of you going out and the paparazzi following you. You are pregnant and you don't need to have twenty grown men following you and bothering you" Zac said.

"But if you are with me, then it won't be a problem" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, but still. Even if I am with you, the paparazzi is not allowed to follow you or us" Zac said.

"We will have to deal with that when it becomes an issue" Vanessa said.

Vanessa leaned in and kissed Zac's lips softly.

"Thanks for telling me what's on your mind" Vanessa said.

"You are welcome. You know that if you need to talk about anything, I am always here" Zac said.

Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's waist.

"I know and thanks. You are going to be a great dad to this baby, I want you to know that" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's lips. The rest of the day, Zac and Vanessa relaxed around the house. They couldn't wait to meet their baby that would be arriving in seven months.


	4. Problems on Problems on Problems

A couple weeks later, Zac and Vanessa were going to go to dinner with Dylan and Stella. They hadn't seen their siblings in a while so they wanted to go out with everyone. Vanessa was in the bedroom trying to figure out what to wear. She tried different pairs of jeans but they would not button. Her baby bump had grown and was hard to conceal now. Vanessa was happy that the baby was growing but it made her upset that she couldn't fit into her clothes anymore.

"Zac?" Vanessa called.

Zac came into the bedroom and leaned against the doorframe.

"Clothes not fitting?" Zac asked.

Vanessa sighed and looked at her boyfriend.

"You will lose the weight after the baby comes, Van. Don't worry. Why don't you ask Stella to go maternity clothes shopping with you?" Zac asked.

"This sucks" Vanessa said.

"Sweetheart, come here" Zac said.

Zac sat on the bed and Vanessa sat on his leg.

"Why does pregnancy have to be so hard? Can't we just fast forward to after I have the baby?" Vanessa said.

"I wish we could, Van. But, it doesn't work like that. Go get some clothes that fit and you will feel much better" Zac said.

Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's neck.

"I love you" Vanessa mumbled.

"I love you too baby girl. Come on, I will help you find something to wear" Zac said.

After looking through Vanessa's clothes, the couple found something that Vanessa could wear that fit. Vanessa came out of the bathroom and looked at Zac.

"Are you sure this looks okay?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes babe. You look beautiful" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"Are you ready to go?" Zac asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

"Alright, let's go" Zac said.

Zac and Vanessa entwined their fingers together and walked out of the house. There were hoards of paparazzi everywhere. Zac felt Vanessa grip his torso tightly. He put his arm around Vanessa and quickly got through the crowds and helped her into the car. Zac got into the car and drove out of the driveway and down the street. He looked at Vanessa.

"Are you okay baby?" Zac asked.

"I do not feel safe with them being in front of the house. I thought you called Rob and told him that you needed more security" Vanessa said.

"I called him about when you went into labor and we were at the hospital. I'm sorry" Zac said.

"I still don't feel safe" Vanessa said.

Zac sighed.

"What would you like me to do?" Zac asked.

"Call Rob and tell him you need more security at the house. Tell him that we can't even walk outside without having people everywhere" Vanessa said.

"Okay. Relax, Van" Zac said.

Vanessa sighed. Zac drove into the restaurant that Stella and Dylan were going to meet them at. Vanessa and Zac got out of the car. Zac put his arm around Vanessa and walked into the restaurant. The couple saw their siblings and went over to the table.

"Hey, how are you feeling Vanessa?" Dylan asked as he kissed her cheek.

"I am doing alright. The paparazzi are getting on my nerves" Vanessa said.

"Did you set up security with Rob?" Dylan asked.

"Zac did for when I went into labor but not when I leave the house just to go do something" Vanessa said angrily.

"Babe, I told you that I was sorry" Zac said.

Vanessa left the table and walked to the bathroom. Zac watched her walk away and knew that he was in trouble.

"So how is the pregnancy going?" Stella asked.

"It's going well. The baby is healthy and that's all we care about. Van is really annoyed by the paparazzi right now and of course me" Zac said.

Stella smiled.

"Do you want me to go see if she is okay?" Stella asked.

"Please and tell her that I am sorry" Zac said.

"I will" Stella said as she walked to the bathroom.

Stella walked into the bathroom and saw her sister crying. She walked over to Vanessa and hugged her.

"Are you okay?" Stella asked.

"Zac is just getting on my nerves. Doesn't he care about the well-being of his girlfriend and unborn child?" Vanessa asked.

"Van, you know that he cares about you and the baby. He has never gone through this so he doesn't know what he is supposed to do" Stella said.

Vanessa sighed and tears ran down her face.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa said.

"Why are you sorry Van?" Stella asked.

"This is a mood swing" Vanessa said.

"So you are okay now?" Stella asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

"Okay, let's go back to the boys" Stella said.

Vanessa and Stella walked out of the bathroom and went to their table and sat down. Vanessa looked at Zac and smiled.

"I'm sorry Zac. I didn't mean what I said. It was a mood swing" Vanessa said.

"It's okay Van. I understand. I will call Rob and figure out the security plan for when we go out" Zac said.

"Okay, thank you" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

"Okay, people. We are still here" Dylan said.

"Sorry guys" Vanessa said.

"Hey, you have my future niece or nephew inside of you. You don't need to be sorry. But back to what I was saying. Are you going to find out if it's a boy or a girl?" Dylan asked.

"We want it to be a surprise. When I have the baby is when we will know" Vanessa said.

"Oh, so this may sound really weird but, what's it like being pregnant?" Dylan asked.

Vanessa, Zac, and Stella laughed.

"I love you Dylan. You always know how to put a smile on my face. But as a pregnant woman you feel tired all the time and your body basically swell up. Also, you have an insane sex drive. I swear it's horrible. You also have to go to the bathroom at least twenty times a day. Morning sickness is a pain in the butt" Vanessa said.

Zac looked at Vanessa and raised his eyebrow.

"What?" Vanessa asked innocently.

"You have an insane sex drive? Since when? Nobody informed me" Zac said.

"I have been holding out because we don't know if it is safe to have sex" Vanessa said.

"I thought it was. In movies, that's basically what every pregnant woman does" Dylan said.

"Yeah, well we want the baby to be safe so we are waiting until our next doctor's appointment" Vanessa said.

"That sounds like a good plan" Stella said.

Everyone's food came and the siblings enjoyed their time together. After everyone was done eating, they paid and left. Zac and Vanessa drove home silently. Zac pulled into the driveway and parked his car. He went to Vanessa's side and helped her out. Zac put his arm around Vanessa and unlocked the door and walked in.

"I'm so tired" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her stomach.

"Come on. Let's get you to bed, sweetheart" Zac said as he took her hand.

Zac and Vanessa walked upstairs and went into their bedroom. Vanessa took her shirt off and saw that her bump had grown a little more. She smiled and changed into her pajamas.

"What are you smiling about?" Zac asked.

"The bump is growing. I am just so happy right now. I am having a baby with my best friend and the love of my life. We both have amazing families and I don't know how life could get any better" Vanessa said smiling.

Zac smiled.

"I love you baby" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

"Can I see the growing bump?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded. Zac sat on the edge of the bed and Vanessa stood in front of him. Zac moved Vanessa's shirt up and smiled. He put his hand on Vanessa's stomach.

"Wow, that's our baby" Zac said.

"Yeah" Vanessa said as she put her hand on top of Zac's.

"When is your next appointment with Dr. Brown?" Zac asked.

"In two weeks. I can't believe I am almost four months pregnant already" Vanessa said.

"I know, morning sickness is supposed to stop soon" Zac said.

"Thank god" Vanessa said.

Vanessa wiped her eyes as she yawned.

"Come on babe, get into bed" Zac said.

Vanessa climbed into bed and snuggled into Zac's chest.

"Night, honey" Zac said.

"Goodnight, baby" Vanessa said.

The couple fell asleep. The next morning, Vanessa woke up and groaned. She got up quickly and ran to the bathroom. She pulled her hair back and released the contents of her stomach. Vanessa brushed her teeth and washed her face. She then walked back to the bedroom and got back into bed. Zac turned over in bed and opened his eyes slowly.

"Did you just have morning sickness?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, but it was only a little bit" Vanessa said.

"A little or a lot you still need to wake me up Van" Zac said.

"Okay, I'm sorry" Vanessa said.

"I want help you, that's all sweetheart. I don't want you to deal with it on your own" Zac said.

"I know. It's getting better and I thought I could just handle it on my own. Besides, you need to sleep too" Vanessa said.

"I know and that's good. But you still need to wake me up" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too Zac. What is the plan today?" Vanessa asked.

"I am thinking of going to my parents house for the day. Would you like to come or do you want me to drop you off at your mother's?" Zac asked.

"I will go with you" Vanessa said.

"Okay, Dylan and I might go surfing. Are you okay with that?" Zac asked.

"Babe, just because I am pregnant, doesn't mean you can't have fun. Go hang out with your brother. I will watch from the sand" Vanessa said.

"Okay, I was just making sure you were comfortable with it babe" Zac said.

"Thanks for asking me though" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

"We better get going" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa and Zac packed their swim suits and extra clothes and put everything in the car. The couple got into the car and started driving to the Zac's parents house. As they drove, Zac and Vanessa talked about the baby.

"We have to start putting names together for both genders, Zac" Vanessa said.

"I know, how about you think of some and then I will think of some and we will eliminate what we don't like" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa put her hand on her bump and looked down at it.

"I can't believe that in six and a half months the baby will be here" Vanessa said.

"I know. I can't wait to see if it's a boy or a girl and who it looks like" Zac said.

"Me too. I just don't know what labor or the birth will be like" Vanessa said shyly.

Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled.

"I will be right next to you and holding your hand the whole time. You can do it babe. I'm scared too" Zac said.

Vanessa sighed.

"I don't want to be in pain" Vanessa said.

"I know, but you could always ask for an epidural" Zac said.

"Yeah, I guess. It just scares me" Vanessa said.

"Honey, what else is on your mind? I know there is something else that is bothering you" Zac said.

"Do you think I will be a good mother?" Vanessa asked.

Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled.

"Of course Vanessa. Every since I met you, you have been one of the most caring and loving woman that I know. This baby is going to feel so loved by us. As for everything else like feeding, diaper changing, and stuff like that, we just need to learn how to do it. Once we learn, it's going to be second nature to us" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded.

"There is just a lot of things that we need to prepare for before the baby comes" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, but we will get it done. I already set up security for when you go in and out of the hospital. I am going to start locking the gate so that the paparazzi can't bombard us when we are with the baby also. We just need to figure out the little details like you said. Everything will be fine, I promise" Zac said.

"I hope so. I hope I don't go into labor early. Then that is one more thing that I will stressed out about" Vanessa said.

"If you do go into labor early, we just have to take everything as it comes. We have Dr. Brown's number so if anything happens we need to call her" Zac said.

Vanessa sighed. Zac kept driving until he reached San Luis Obispo and drove to his childhood home. He parked the car in the driveway and went to Vanessa's side and helped her out. The couple entwined their fingers and walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. Starla opened the door and smiled.

"Hi guys, how are you doing?" Starla asked as she hugged the couple.

"We're fine. Where's Dylan? We are going to go surf" Zac said.

"He is coming" Starla said.

Dylan came downstairs and smiled when he saw Zac and Vanessa. He hugged Vanessa and gave her a kiss on the cheek and put his hand on her stomach.

"You are growing, Van" Dylan said.

"Yeah, everyday" Vanessa said.

Dylan shook his brother's hand.

"Are you ready to go?" Zac asked.

"Let me go get our boards and we will go" Dylan said as he ran upstairs.

"Is Vanessa going with you?" Starla asked.

"Yeah, I am. The baby needs some sun. I will just hang out on the sand" Vanessa said as she wrapped her arm around Zac's waist.

"Okay, if you don't want to be over there anymore honey, call and I will pick you up" Starla said.

"I will. Thanks, Starla" Vanessa said.

Dylan came downstairs with the two surfboards. Zac, Vanessa, and Dylan left the house and drove to the beach which was a few miles away. Zac parked the car and helped Vanessa get out. The three adults walked onto the sand and went toward the water. Vanessa laid a towel down on the sand and sat down.

"If you need anything baby, just yell for me okay?" Zac said.

"Okay, have fun" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

Zac and Dylan ran into the ocean with their surfboards. The brothers surfed for an hour until Zac saw paparazzi bothering Vanessa on the shore.

"Dylan, I will be back" Zac said.

Zac swam back to the beach and walked to where the paparazzi was taking pictures.

"Can't you leave us alone? She's pregnant" Zac said.

"Sorry Zac, it's our job" a photographer said.

"Well can you take pictures of someone else? You are making Vanessa uncomfortable" Zac said.

"We will leave. Sorry again, Zac" the photographer said.

Zac watched the paparazzi leave and then bent down to where Vanessa was.

"Are you okay?" Zac asked.

"I hate that we can never be alone anywhere" Vanessa said.

"I know, I'm sorry honey. Do you want me to call my mom and ask her to pick you up?" Zac asked.

"No, I wanted to spend time with you and Dylan" Vanessa said.

"Baby, I want you to be safe. I think it's safer if you go to my parents" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

Zac called his mother and asked her to pick Vanessa up. An hour later, Zac and Dylan returned to the house. Zac and Vanessa were annoyed that couldn't go anywhere without being harassed by the paparazzi.


	5. A Mile Long List

That night, Vanessa was in the bathroom making a bath for herself. She turned on the water and waited until it warmed up. She then poured her favorite soap into the water. Vanessa undressed and got into the tub and sighed happily. She was exhausted. Being pregnant had made Vanessa more tired than usual. Her muscles ached and she just needed some time to relax. Vanessa put her hand on her little bump and smiled. She couldn't wait to meet her baby. That's the one thing that always stayed in her mind. There was a knock on the bathroom door and Gabriella sighed.

"Come in" Vanessa said.

Zac opened the door and smiled.

"Hey, you okay?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, I am just relaxing. My muscles are aching" Vanessa said.

"Alright, are you in pain?" Zac asked.

"No, my body is just tired babe. Don't worry" Vanessa said.

"Okay, I just wanted to know" Zac said.

"I think I am going to bed after I get out of the tub, so if you aren't in the bedroom when I get out, goodnight and I love you" Vanessa said.

"Night, I love you too" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

Zac left the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Twenty minutes later, Vanessa got out of the tub and drained the water. She then washed her face and dried her hair. Vanessa got into her pajamas and walked into the master bedroom and didn't see Zac. She got into bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. An hour later, Zac came into the bedroom and saw Vanessa sleeping. He kissed her head softly and got into bed and fell asleep. Two weeks later, Vanessa was three months pregnant and had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Brown. Zac and Vanessa were excited to see the baby.

"Zac? Come on, we are going to be late" Vanessa said.

Zac came downstairs and smiled. He kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"Let's go" Zac said.

Zac and Vanessa walked to the car and got in. Zac drove to Dr. Brown's office and parked his car. The couple got out of the car and walked hand in hand into the office. Vanessa signed herself in and sat next to Zac.

"Are you excited to see the baby today?" Zac asked.

"Of course I am excited. Remember that, we have questions to ask" Vanessa reminded him.

"I know" Zac said.

A nurse came into the waiting room with a file.

"Vanessa Hudgens?" the nurse called.

Vanessa and Zac walked over to the nurse and followed her to a room where Vanessa's vitals were taken. The couple was then escorted to an exam room.

"Dr. Brown will be in shortly" the nurse said.

Vanessa undressed and put a gown on. She then looked at Zac.

"Can you tie it baby?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah" Zac said.

Zac tied Vanessa's gown and Vanessa walked back to the exam table and sat down. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Dr. Brown walked into the room.

"Hi guys" Dr. Brown said.

"Hi" Vanessa said.

"How are you feeling, Vanessa?" Dr. Brown asked.

"Tired and achy" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her growing bump.

"Looks like the belly has grown a little bit since I have seen you. Anything I need to know about?" Dr. Brown asked.

"We just had a question. Is it safe to have sex? I don't want to risk anything" Vanessa said as she turned dark red.

Zac smiled.

"It is safe to have sex but you have to be careful. You have a baby inside of you. Any other questions?" Dr. Brown asked.

"No" Vanessa and Zac said simultaneously.

"Okay. Vanessa, I am going to do a more in depth exam today alright? You may feel some pressure. Just breathe through it" Dr. Brown said.

"What are you checking for Dr. Brown?" Zac asked.

"I am checking the baby's position" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Vanessa spread her legs apart and Dr. Brown took a seat in front of her.

"Take a deep breath, Vanessa" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa took Zac's hand and took a deep breath. She squeezed her eyes shut as Dr. Brown examined her.

"Breathe baby" Zac said.

Vanessa started breathing through her nose.

"The baby looks like it is in the correct position, Vanessa" Dr. Brown said.

"That's good" Vanessa said.

Vanessa looked at Zac, who smiled at her. Dr. Brown came up and put Vanessa's legs down.

"Alright, now let's see the baby on the ultrasound" Dr. Brown said.

Dr. Brown turned the ultrasound on and waited for it to heat up. Zac held Vanessa's hand and kissed her head softly. Vanessa smiled at him. Dr. Brown squeezed gel onto Vanessa's stomach and picked up the wand and moved the gel around.

"You are twelve weeks?" Dr. Brown asked.

"Yes" Vanessa said.

Dr. Brown stopped moving the wand and then pointed to the screen.

"There's your baby" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa and Zac smiled. Vanessa had tears running down her face. Zac rubbed her shoulders and kissed her head.

"Would you like to know the gender?" Dr. Brown asked.

"We want it to be a surprise" Vanessa said.

"Okay, I will go print these pictures for you and I will be back" Dr. Brown said.

Dr. Brown left the room. Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled.

"I can't believe that was our baby" Zac said.

"I know, it's crazy" Vanessa said as she wiped her tears away.

"Are you happy?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded.

"So happy. I love you Zac" Vanessa said.

"I love you too Vanessa" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

Dr. Brown came back into the room and gave Zac the sonogram.

"I will see you in a month" Dr. Brown said.

"See you then" Vanessa said.

Dr. Brown left the room. Vanessa changed back into her clothes and the couple left the doctor's office. Zac and Vanessa entwined their fingers together and walked to the car. Zac helped Vanessa get into the car and then went to the driver's side and got in.

"Can you stop by my parents house before we go home?" Vanessa asked.

Zac looked at Vanessa.

"Sure" Zac said.

"Thanks, I haven't seen my family in a while and I don't want them to feel like I am avoiding them or anything" Vanessa said hormonally.

"Babe, it's okay" Zac said.

"No, it's not. Yes they were shocked when they found out I was pregnant, but that doesn't mean I am just going to block them out of my life" Vanessa said as tears ran down her face.

"Sweetheart, don't cry" Zac said.

"I can't help it" Vanessa cried.

Zac pulled over to the side of the road and parked his car. He got out of the car and walked to Vanessa's side of the car. Zac opened the door and put his arms out. Vanessa took off her seat belt and walked into her boyfriend's arms. Zac wrapped his arms around Vanessa's waist.

"Everything is okay Van. You are going to see your family now, so you will be able to tell them all about the baby and the pregnancy" Zac said.

Vanessa sniffled and wiped her tears away and sighed.

"Sorry" Vanessa said.

"Hey, it's okay. Mood swings are normal to have when you are pregnant honey. That's what your book said" Zac said.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

Zac pulled into the Hudgens driveway. He parked the car and got out and went to Vanessa's side. Zac helped Vanessa get out of the car. He entwined their fingers together and kissed Vanessa's lips. The couple walked to the front door and Vanessa rang the doorbell. Stella opened the door and smiled.

"Hi Van! Hi Zac! How's my little niece or nephew?" Stella asked as she put her hand on Vanessa's stomach.

"The baby is fine. How are you?" Vanessa asked as she hugged her sister.

"I'm doing okay. How are you doing Zaccy?" Stella asked.

Zac smiled and hugged Stella.

"I'm doing well Stell" Zac said.

"Where's mom and dad?" Vanessa asked.

"Dad is working and mom is in the kitchen" Stella said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she and Zac walked into the kitchen.

Gina heard voices and looked up from what she was doing and smiled.

"Hi guys. How are you feeling Van?" Gina asked.

"I'm doing okay. Pregnancy is starting to hit me hard" Vanessa said.

"How far along are you?" Gina asked.

"3 months" Vanessa said.

"In 6 months you will be parents. How do you feel about that Zac?" Gina asked.

"It's scary but also exciting. I can't wait to meet our son or daughter and see what the baby looks like" Zac said.

"Has the paparazzi been getting better?" Gina asked.

"Yeah, they have. We have been closing the gate when we are home so that they can't be on our driveway" Vanessa said.

"Good. You guys don't need to be harassed by the paparazzi, especially when you are pregnant" Gina said.

The couple and Gina talked for a little longer and then said goodbye. Zac and Vanessa drove home and walked into the house and went into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"I'm exhausted" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"Do you want to take a nap?" Zac asked.

"No" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

Zac leaned down and kissed Vanessa's stomach softly.

"I love you baby" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled. Zac sat up and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"What do you think the baby will look like?" Vanessa asked.

"If the baby is a girl, then I think she will look like you" Zac said.

"What if it's a boy?" Vanessa asked.

"Maybe he will look like me. I don't know" Zac said as he put his hand on top of Vanessa's on her bump.

"We need to start looking for a pediatrician for the baby" Gabriella said.

"A pediatrician? Babe, the baby isn't even here yet" Zac said.

"I know that. But, I want us to have everything ready before the baby comes. We need to start looking. We have six months before the baby comes and we have a lot to do before then" Vanessa said.

"What do we need to do?" Zac asked.

"We need to work on the baby's room. We need to get furniture and everything. We also need to a car seat-" Vanessa said.

"Babe, babe, babe. Stop" Zac interrupted.

"What?" Vanessa asked.

"We need to take one thing at a time. I will start on the baby's room okay? I will ask Dylan to help me" Zac said.

"What about me?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't want you lifting anything or painting. Let Dylan and I do that" Zac said.

"But Zac, I want to help with the baby's room too" Vanessa whined.

"Van, you are not allowed to lift anything. I am just thinking of you and the baby, honey" Zac said.

"Ugh" Vanessa groaned.

"I know you want to help baby, I know. But let me handle it" Zac said.

"I just want to be a part of something. I am just the pregnant woman. I can't do anything, but walk around the house, throw up, and feel fat" Vanessa said hormonally.

Vanessa got up and walked upstairs and closed the bedroom door. Zac sighed and walked upstairs. He saw that the bedroom door was closed and politely knocked on the door.

"Baby, I know you are upset and probably hate me right now, but I just want what's best for you and our baby. That's all. I know you are excited and want to help with stuff, I just don't want you to get hurt or the baby to get hurt" Zac said.

Zac put his ear to the door and heard Vanessa sniffling. That's when he started to feel terrible.

"Honey, can I come in?" Zac asked.

Zac put his hand on the doorknob and realized that the door was unlocked. He walked into the bedroom slowly and saw Vanessa lying on their bed with tears running down her face. Zac sat on the bed and looked at his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry I made you upset, Van" Zac said.

"You don't understand how I feel. You can do anything you want to do. You can have sex with a girl and get her pregnant and then act normally, while the woman you love has to deal with a pregnancy. You don't understand" Vanessa said.

"Van, I do understand" Zac said softly.

"No you don't. Do you know what it's like to have your clothes not fit? Do you?" Vanessa asked.

"No" Zac mumbled.

"Do you know what it's like to throw up every single morning for three months?" Vanessa asked.

"No" Zac mumbled.

"Have you gained a lot of weight in three months? No, you haven't. You don't understand that, I don't feel normal and I just want to do something normal. I want to help with the baby's room because I am the baby's mother" Vanessa cried.

"Baby, don't cry" Zac said.

Vanessa turned so she wasn't facing Zac. Zac got onto the bed and moved her so that she was facing him.

"I'm sorry" Zac said.

"You don't understand that what you said hurt me" Vanessa said.

"Now I do Vanessa. I didn't mean for it to hurt you. I love you" Zac said.

Vanessa sniffled and leaned over and kissed Zac's cheek.

"Don't do that again" Vanessa said.

"I won't, I promise" Zac said.

"Wow, we just got through my first legit mood swing" Vanessa said.

"Yeah. But back to the baby's room, since I am putting everything together, do you want to pick out the furniture and stuff like that?" Zac asked.

"Okay. You are going to put it together?" Vanessa asked.

"I will put the furniture together but you can pick everything else" Zac said.

"Alright, that sounds fine" Vanessa said.

"Okay, so I am going to call Dylan and ask if he wants to come over tomorrow and help me paint. What color do you want the room to be?" Zac asked.

"A neutral color would be fine right now, since we don't know the gender yet" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Zac leaned over and kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

The rest of the day Zac and Vanessa talked about the baby and everything that they had to do before the baby came.


	6. Brothers Are The Best

The next morning, Vanessa woke up and saw Zac sleeping. She smiled and kissed his forehead softly and got out of bed. Vanessa walked downstairs and went into the living room and called her mother.

"Hello?" Gina answered.

"Hi mom, I was wondering if you knew any good pediatricians in the area. Zac and I are trying to find a pediatrician for the baby" Vanessa said.

"I could give you Dr. Scott's number and you can call him. Why are you looking for pediatrician's already?" Gina asked.

"I want to have everything ready and done by the time the baby comes. I don't know how long finding a pediatrician will take so that's why I am starting now" Vanessa said.

"Okay, how are you feeling?" Gina asked her daughter.

"I am tired and achy. The usual, anyway thanks for giving me Dr. Scott's number" Vanessa said.

"You are welcome. Call me if you need anything" Gina said.

"I will" Vanessa said.

Gina and Vanessa hung up the phone. Vanessa walked upstairs and saw Zac getting out of bed.

"You are up early, what's going on?" Zac asked.

"I called my mom and she gave me a number of my pediatrician. I am going to call him when the office opens to schedule a consultation" Vanessa said.

"I don't get a say?" Zac asked.

Vanessa looked at Zac.

"I'm sorry. I just really want to get this done and over with so we can move onto the next thing" Vanessa said as she wrapped her arms around Zac's neck.

"You need to take one thing at a time and let me help you" Zac said.

"Okay, I'm sorry. When is Dylan coming?" Vanessa asked.

"He's coming in an hour. I have to take a shower and get ready" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

Zac walked into the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Zac came out of the bathroom, shirtless. He walked into the bedroom and searched for a shirt.

"Mm. Hey good looking" Vanessa said.

Zac laughed.

"You like what you see?" Zac asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

The doorbell rang and Zac put on a shirt quickly as Vanessa went downstairs to get the door. Vanessa opened the door and smiled.

"Hey mama. How are you feeling?" Dylan asked.

"I'm okay. A little hormonal, but other than that, I am fine. How are you?" Vanessa asked.

"Mood swings kicking in? I'm doing okay. How's my niece or nephew? Why can't you find out the gender of the baby?" Dylan asked.

"Mood swings are horrible. They make so irritated. Your niece or nephew is fine. We don't want to find out the gender until I have the baby. It will be a fun surprise for everyone" Vanessa said.

"Hmm. Well, maybe I can have Zac try to change your mind. Where is he?" Dylan asked.

"I'm here" Zac said as he walked down stairs.

"Hey" Dylan said.

"Hey, are you ready to paint?" Zac asked.

"Yeah" Dylan said.

"Alright, let's go upstairs. If you need anything babe, just yell" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac and Dylan walked upstairs and went to the guest room and set up the paint and brushes. They started painting in silence until Dylan started a conversation.

"So how's everything going with you?" Dylan asked.

"Everything is going okay. Vanessa is almost four months pregnant. I think that the pregnancy is finally hitting her and it has definitely hit me" Zac said.

"Has she had any cravings?" Dylan asked.

"Not yet but it's still early in the pregnancy, so I am sure that those will be coming soon. Her bump is growing almost every day" Zac said.

"What has her doctor said?" Dylan asked.

Zac stopped painting and looked at his brother.

"Why do you have a sudden interest in pregnancy? Did you get a girl pregnant?" Zac joked.

"I just want to know what's going on. I'm interested. Vanessa's like my older sister. We live far away and don't get to see each other much so I just want to be in the loop, that's all" Dylan said.

"I know. Why don't you move down to LA? You could get a nice apartment and be close to us" Zac said.

"I've been thinking about it. It's just I would have to find a new job and all of that stuff" Dylan said.

"Yeah, true" Zac said.

"How are you feeling about becoming a father?" Dylan asked.

"I mean I am really excited but also really scared because I don't want to make a mistake. Yeah people are going to make mistakes but I don't want to do something that will make my child in danger" Zac said.

Dylan smiled.

"You are going to be a great father Zac. I mean when we were kids, you took care of me all the time and I didn't die" Dylan said.

Zac laughed and shook his head.

"Thanks, Dylan. I needed that" Zac said.

"Hey, I may be your little brother but I know a lot of things" Dylan said.

"You are the best" Zac said.

"Hey I am going to be an uncle, that's scary in itself" Dylan said.

"Yeah, that's crazy" Zac said.

The two brothers continued painting and finished an hour later. They stood back and looked at the light brown color on the wall.

"It looks good" Zac said as he high fived his brother.

"Should we show Vanessa?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah, I will go get her" Zac said.

Zac walked out of the baby's room and went into the master bedroom where Vanessa was laying down.

"Baby, we finished" Zac said.

"I want to see it" Vanessa said as she got up carefully.

Zac took Vanessa's hand and walked to the baby's room. He stopped in front of the door and looked at Vanessa.

"Alright, let's go in" Zac said.

Zac and Vanessa walked into the room. Vanessa smiled and looked at the walls.

"You guys did a great job" Vanessa said.

"Thanks, babe" Zac said.

"Now we just have to get furniture in and we will be basically done with the actual room" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, that crosses one thing off the list" Zac said.

Vanessa walked over to Zac and kissed his lips.

"Thank you for painting. I love you" Vanessa said.

"You are welcome. I love you too" Zac said.

"Hey, I am still here you know" Dylan said.

Zac and Vanessa laughed.

"Thanks for helping Zac, Dylan" Vanessa said.

"You are welcome. It wasn't as much work as I thought it was" Dylan said.

"Yeah, it was actually really easy to paint" Zac said.

Vanessa put her hand on her bump.

"I am going to head out. I have some things to take care of. I will come back out here in a couple weeks" Dylan said as he kissed Vanessa's cheek.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she hugged Dylan.

Zac, Vanessa, and Dylan walked downstairs. Zac and Vanessa said goodbye to Dylan and closed the door.

"How are you feeling?" Zac asked.

"I feel okay. Just a little tired. Other than that, I feel fine" Vanessa said.

"Why don't you take a little nap?" Zac suggested.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa walked upstairs and went into the master bedroom. She lied down on the bed and fell asleep. An hour later, Vanessa woke up and got up carefully. She instantly felt cramps in her stomach.

"Mm" Vanessa moaned.

Vanessa put her hand on her bump and rubbed it in circles. She walked out of the bedroom and went downstairs. Vanessa walked into the living room.

"Zac?" Vanessa called.

Zac looked up and saw Vanessa in pain.

"What's wrong honey?" Zac asked concerned.

"I have cramps" Vanessa said.

"Is that normal?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, Dr. Brown said it was. They just hurt" Vanessa said as she sat down next to Zac.

Zac put his hand on Vanessa's bump. Vanessa got into a ball and leaned against her boyfriend.

"Do you want me to do anything for you, sweetheart?" Zac asked.

"Just stay here with me" Vanessa said.

"I can do that" Zac said.

Zac put his arm around Vanessa and kissed her head.

"It feels worse than period cramps" Vanessa said.

"Worse than that?" Zac asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa mumbled.

"Is the pain still the same?" Zac asked.

"It's better but it still hurts" Vanessa said.

"Maybe if you take a bath, it will help the pain" Zac suggested.

"I don't know" Vanessa said.

"Do you want to try it?" Zac asked.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"Alright honey" Zac said.

Zac stood up and helped Vanessa stand up. He helped Vanessa walk upstairs and into the bathroom. Zac turned on the warm water. He then waited for the tub to fill up. After the tub filled up, Zac put Vanessa's favorite soap into the water and helped Vanessa undress and get into the tub.

"How does that feel?" Zac asked.

"Better" Vanessa said.

"Good. I feel so disgusting right now" Vanessa said as she wiped a stray hair away from her face.

"Why do you say that Van?" Zac asked.

"I'm fat, I have dark circles under my eyes, and I just don't look good" Vanessa said.

"Baby, you are pregnant. The fact that the baby bump is growing means the baby is growing too. You aren't fat. I know that you haven't been sleeping well the past couple of weeks, but it will get better soon. Lastly, you are beautiful and you do look good. You are carrying my child and there is nothing sexier than that" Zac said.

"Are you just saying that to make me feel better?" Vanessa asked.

"No Vanessa. It's true. You are beautiful" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled and leaned over and kissed Zac's lips.

"I love you and I can't wait to have your baby" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"I love you too and I am so happy that you are happy" Zac said.

Zac put his hand on Vanessa's stomach.

"What did you and Dylan talk about while you were painting?" Vanessa asked.

"We were talking about the baby and how he wants to move down here to be closer to us" Zac said.

"He wants to move to LA?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, he wants to find a job and an apartment. If he moved down here, I would be happy because we don't see each other often" Zac said.

"Yeah and you would have another guy to hang out with" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, plus with him down here, if we decided to go out or something, he could watch the baby" Zac said.

"True" Vanessa said.

"I don't know if he will actually move out here though" Zac said.

"Isn't he dating someone?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, they are living together. I have never met his girlfriend" Zac said.

"Oh" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, but my mom says that she is a great girl for him" Zac said.

"That's good, I am happy for him" Vanessa said.

"Me too, but not to change the subject, how are cramps?" Zac asked.

"They are gone" Vanessa said.

"Good" Zac said.

That night Zac and Vanessa relaxed around the house. A couple weeks later, Vanessa's physical appearance had changed dramatically. Her body was fuller and her bump had grown significantly. Being four months pregnant had taken a toll on her though. She was always tired and wanted to sleep whenever she could. Zac tried to wake her up one morning but nothing seemed to work.

"Baby, come on. You have to wake up sweetheart, you aren't going to be able to sleep tonight otherwise" Zac said.

"Mm. I am so tired, Zac" Vanessa said.

"I know honey, but you need to wake up" Zac said.

Vanessa slowly opened her eyes and looked at her boyfriend.

"The baby is making me so tired. I don't know why" Vanessa said.

"I'm sorry sweetie. I wish I take some of the pregnancy and go through it for you" Zac said.

"It's not your fault" Vanessa said.

Vanessa and Zac had started realizing that the baby was actually going to come in five months. The couple was so excited to meet their child.


	7. Difference Of Opinions

The next day Vanessa and Zac had a consultation with Dr. Scott, who was Vanessa's pediatrician as a child. The couple wanted to see if he would be a good fit as their baby's doctor. Vanessa woke up and kissed Zac's cheek. Zac turned over and opened his eyes slowly.

"Good morning" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's cheek.

"Morning, we have a consultation with Dr. Scott at eleven" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Vanessa put her hand on her bump and looked at it.

"The bump grew" Vanessa said.

"Yeah it did" Zac said.

Zac put his hand on Vanessa's bump.

"You ready for today?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, I am going to take a shower and then we can leave" Vanessa said.

"Okay baby" Zac said.

Vanessa got out of bed and walked into the closet and picked out her outfit and walked into the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Vanessa came out of the bathroom. She walked downstairs and saw Zac in the kitchen.

"Are you ready to go?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac and Vanessa left the house and drove to Dr. Scott's office. Zac pulled into the parking lot and parked the car. He got out of the car and went to Vanessa's side and helped her out. Vanessa and Zac entwined their fingers together and walked into the office. Vanessa signed in and sat next to Zac. A few minutes later, a nurse came into the waiting room.

"Vanessa Hudgens?" the nurse called.

Vanessa and Zac stood up and followed the nurse into Dr. Scott's office.

"Dr. Scott will be right with you" the nurse said.

A doctor who was very tall and had short black hair came into the office.

"Hi Vanessa, how are you?" Dr. Scott asked.

"Fine, Dr. Scott. It's been a while" Vanessa said.

"Who is this?" Dr. Scott asked motioning to Zac.

"I'm Zac, Vanessa's boyfriend" Zac said.

"Hi Zac, so you are both here to find out about our practice correct?" Dr. Scott asked.

"Yes, we just want to find a pediatrician for our child as soon as possible" Vanessa said.

"Okay, well if you are choosing me as a primary physician, I like natural remedies more than pharmaceutical medication. I want your child to have the best possible care without using harmful chemicals" Dr. Scott said.

Zac looked at Vanessa.

"I think that the natural route would be much safer for the baby and as it grows up" Vanessa said.

"What do you think, Zac?" Dr. Scott asked.

"I mean whatever Vanessa chooses, I will go along with" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac and sensed something was wrong. She shrugged it off and continued to listen to Dr. Scott.

"Your child will be in very good hands and I would be the primary physician until the child is eighteen years old" Dr. Scott said.

"Thank you for your time, Dr. Scott. We really appreciate it" Vanessa said.

The couple walked out of Dr. Scott's office and left the doctor's office. They walked to the car and got in. Vanessa sighed.

"What's wrong?" Vanessa asked.

"Nothing" Zac said.

"Zac, please tell me. I know that you are upset about something" Vanessa said.

"You didn't tell me that this doctor is a natural remedies type of doctor. I thought he was an actual medication based doctor. Why didn't you tell me?" Zac asked.

"Babe, I just want what is best for the baby" Vanessa said.

"You don't think I want that too?!" Zac asked as his voice rose.

"Medication that is given by normal doctors can harm the baby in the long run" Vanessa said.

"Why did you hide this from me?" Zac asked.

"I didn't want you to say no" Vanessa said.

"So you tricked me into going" Zac said.

"It's not like that, Zac. I just wanted to see what the doctor had to say" Vanessa said.

Zac continued driving. He pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. Zac and Vanessa got out of the car and walked into the house.

"What do you want from me Zac? I'm sorry that I wanted a specific doctor for the baby. I just wanted to see what options we had" Vanessa said.

Zac walked upstairs and found a suitcase and started packing clothes in it.

"Where are you going?" Vanessa asked.

"I think we need some time a part right now" Zac said solemnly.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Vanessa asked as tears ran down her face.

"I just need to think okay. I will be back in a couple days" Zac said.

"Where are you going?" Vanessa cried.

"I am going to go to my parents" Zac said.

Zac finished putting clothes in the suitcase and closed it. He walked downstairs with Vanessa following him. Zac got to the door and was about to open it.

"Zac?" Vanessa called.

Zac turned around and looked at his crying girlfriend, who had her hand on her bump.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa choked.

"I will see you later, okay?" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded. Zac left the house. Vanessa walked into the living room and cried. After an hour of crying, Vanessa picked up her phone and dialed her mother's number.

"Hello?" Gina answered the phone.

"Hi mom" Vanessa said.

"Van, what's wrong honey?" Gina asked.

"Zac and I got into a fight and he left. He told me he was going to go up to San Luis for a couple days to clear his head" Vanessa cried.

"Oh honey. I'm sorry, do you want me to pick you up and bring you over here?" Gina asked.

"Okay" Vanessa said quietly.

"Alright, Van. I am on my way" Gina said.

Vanessa and Gina hung up the phone. Vanessa walked upstairs and went into the bedroom. She got into bed and took Zac's pillow and hugged it. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Vanessa walked downstairs and opened the front door. Gina looked at her daughter and smiled. She hugged Vanessa and rubbed her back as she cried.

"Why did he leave?" Gina asked.

"We got into a fight about what type of pediatrician we should use for the baby. I went to Dr. Scott and he uses natural remedies instead of pharmaceutical medication and I didn't tell Zac that. He thought we were going to a pediatrician that uses normal medicine. Zac got mad that I tricked him into going and then he packed his stuff and left" Vanessa cried.

"Did he say when he was coming back?" Gina asked.

"He said he was going to come back in a couple days" Vanessa said.

"Pack some clothes and we will leave" Gina said.

Vanessa nodded. She walked upstairs and packed her clothes. Vanessa then walked downstairs and the mother and daughter left the house. Gina helped Vanessa get into the car and then went to the driver's side and got in. She looked at Vanessa, whose head was leaning against the window.

"Everything is going to be okay, Van. He just needs time" Gina said.

Vanessa nodded. Meanwhile, Zac had just pulled up to his childhood home in San Luis Obispo. He got out of his car and walked to the front door. Zac took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, Dylan opened the door.

"Hey, what's up? Where's Van?" Dylan asked.

"We got into a fight" Zac said.

"About what?" Dylan asked as the two brothers walked into the house.

"She wants to use this pediatrician that uses natural remedies instead of actual medicine. I didn't know this until we were sitting in the doctor's office and the doctor was talking about the practice. She didn't even tell me. I am the baby's father, shouldn't I know things like this?" Zac asked.

"Zac, you should what is going on but, Van is going to be a mother. Mothers are very protective of their children and they don't want them to be in any harm. She is just trying not to put the baby into a harmful situation. I agree that not telling you about the doctor thing was bad, but you have to look at it from her perspective too" Dylan said.

Zac nodded.

"Yeah, I guess. Should I call her?" Zac asked.

"Try and see what happens. I am going to go upstairs and give you some privacy" Dylan said.

"Thanks, Dylan" Zac said.

Dylan walked upstairs and Zac turned to his phone. He dialed the familiar number that he knew so well and waited for Vanessa to answer.

"Hi" Vanessa said softly.

"Hey, I am sorry for going off about the whole pediatrician thing. I just felt like you just wanted to do everything on your own and not include me, and that hurt. I am this baby's father and I want to know about things like this" Zac said.

"I'm sorry too. I should have told you about the doctor" Vanessa said.

"I want to be involved in the baby's life Van and the ideas that we come up with about how to raise him or her, should be discussed with each other before actually trying to put them into action" Zac said.

"I agree with that. From now on, I will come to you and talk to you about the stuff I am thinking about rather than doing them on my own" Vanessa said.

"Okay, now that we made up, I am going to be home in two days. I don't want you to staying by yourself" Zac said.

"I'm actually at my parents house" Vanessa said.

"Okay, when I come back to LA, I will pick you up" Zac said.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too sweetheart" Zac said.

"I will talk to you later" Vanessa said.

"Alright" Zac said.

Zac sighed and sat on the couch and looked at the ceiling.

"You look frustrated" Starla said.

Zac looked at his mother and got off the couch and walked over to his mother and hugged her.

"What's wrong Zac?" Starla asked.

"Vanessa made this appointment with the pediatrician that she had as a child. I was all for it at first. But, when we got to the office, the doctor started talking about natural remedies instead of actual medicine. I had no idea that this doctor practiced like that. Van didn't tell me. I got mad and here I am" Zac said.

Starla smiled.

"Did you talk to her about it?" Starla asked.

"Yeah, I just talked to her. I just feel like everything is spinning in my head" Zac said as he put his hands on his face.

Starla sat next to Zac on the couch.

"Zac, a lot of things are going on right now. It's normal. You are going to be a father in five months. That's a lot to take in. You and Vanessa are going to have differences of opinions on things but you just need to know what each person is thinking about and if it's good for the baby. That's all that matters. I know you are stressed out, but this baby is coming whether you both like it or not" Starla said.

Zac nodded.

"Five months ago, I was just an adult trying to live my life. Now, I am going to be a father. It's just a lot" Zac said.

"I know it is. But, you are doing great so far. Go upstairs and relax. Don't worry about anything" Starla said.

"Okay, thanks" Zac said.

Zac walked upstairs and fell asleep. Meanwhile, at the Hudgens' home, Stella had just gotten home from school. She walked into the kitchen and saw Vanessa and smiled.

"Hi Van. Hi baby" Stella said as she put her hand on Vanessa's bump.

"Hey, Stella" Vanessa said.

"Where's Zac?" Stella asked.

"Zac is in San Luis. We got into a fight about the baby and he left. But, he just called and we talked and now everything is fine" Vanessa said.

"Wow, I'm sorry. How's the baby doing?" Stella asked.

"The baby is fine. It is just being stressed because of everything that is going on" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"You can't let stuff stress you out, Van. It's not good for the baby" Stella said.

"I know" Vanessa said.

The doorbell rang and Stella walked to the front door and opened it.

"Hey, Stella. Is Van here?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen" Stella said.

Zac and Stella walked into the kitchen. Zac snaked his arms around Vanessa and kissed her shoulder. Vanessa turned around and jumped into her boyfriend's arms.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa said.

"Hey, it's okay honey. I'm sorry too. Everything is okay" Zac said.

Vanessa pulled back and kissed Zac's lips passionately.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

Stella smiled.

"That's the couple I love" Stella said.

Zac and Vanessa laughed.

"Let's go home" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

The rest of the day, Vanessa and Zac relaxed around the house and talked about the baby who would be arriving in five months.


	8. Nightmares and Reality

That night, Zac and Vanessa went to bed. Vanessa snuggled into Zac's embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist. She started dreaming about what life would be like once the baby came. Vanessa then started dreaming of what the birth of the baby would be like.

_Vanessa's Dream _

"_Vanessa, you have to push" Dr. Brown said. _

"_I can't do it anymore" Vanessa cried. _

"_Baby, you need to push. The baby needs to come out" Zac said. _

_Vanessa pushed and screamed. _

"_It hurts" Vanessa said. _

"_One more push Vanessa and then the baby will be here" Dr. Brown said. _

"_Come on honey, just one more push" Zac said. _

_Vanessa pushed and screamed as she felt the baby leave her body_

_End of Vanessa's dream. _

Vanessa screamed and sat up in bed. Zac sat up and looked at Vanessa.

"You okay?" Zac asked.

"Bad dream" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"What was it about?" Zac asked as Vanessa lied back down.

"I was in the delivery room and I was pushing. It scared me" Vanessa said.

"Baby, it's okay. Everything is going to be fine, alright. Try to go back to sleep and we will talk about it in the morning" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's cheek.

Vanessa nodded and snuggled into Zac's chest and fell asleep. The next morning Zac woke up and saw Vanessa looking at her bump. He put his hand on top of hers.

"Do you want to talk about your dream?" Zac asked.

"I'm honestly petrified to give birth" Vanessa said.

"Baby, that's normal. I'm scared too" Zac said.

"What if I can't do it?" Vanessa asked as she leaned her head onto Zac's chest.

"You will be able to do it, sweetheart. I know you can" Zac said.

"How do you know?" Vanessa asked.

"I know because you are a strong woman and we want to see our baby" Zac said.

"My dream felt so real" Vanessa said.

"I know, and it will be in five months" Zac said.

"Yeah, it's going by so fast" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"I know, but in five months we will finally get to see what the baby looks like and find out if it's boy or a girl" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded. Zac kissed Vanessa's cheek softly.

"I have a serious question" Vanessa said.

"What's up?" Zac asked.

"In the future, would you ever consider leaving me? Like what if you found another girl? Or you didn't want to be tied down to me because we have a baby together" Vanessa said as tears ran down her cheeks.

Zac's eyes widened and he looked at Vanessa. He hugged Vanessa and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Vanessa, I love you more than anything in the world. I would never find another girl because I am already with the one that I want to be with forever. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, baby. Don't even think that I would ever be tied down because you and this baby mean everything to me. I love you both so much. I am going to be here forever, whether you like it or not. You don't have to worry about that" Zac said.

Vanessa sniffled and looked up at Zac. She kissed his lips passionately.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I love you too" Zac said.

"I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow at ten" Vanessa said.

"With Dr. Brown?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, are you free?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, I was just making sure it was with Dr. Brown" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Later that day, the phone rang. Vanessa picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Vanessa answered.

"Hi honey, how are you feeling?" Starla asked.

"Hi Starla, I'm doing okay. The baby is getting big. How are you?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm doing well Van. David and I were going to come down to LA tomorrow to help Dylan move and we wanted to know if you guys were around" Starla said.

"I have a doctor's appointment in the morning, but we will be home after twelve. Would that work for you?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, that would be perfect" Vanessa said.

"Alright, we will see you guys then. Love you Van" Starla said.

"I love you too Starla" Vanessa said.

Starla and Vanessa hung up the phone. Vanessa went into the kitchen and saw Zac making a sandwich for himself. She walked over to Zac and wrapped her arms around Zac's waist.

"Who was on the phone?" Zac asked.

"Your mom. She wanted to know if we were around tomorrow because Dylan is moving down here and she wanted to see us also" Vanessa said.

"Oh. What time are they coming?" Zac asked.

"After my appointment" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

"Can I have a bite of that?" Vanessa asked as she looked at Zac's sandwich.

Zac looked at Vanessa and then at his sandwich.

"Your baby is hungry" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and put the sandwich up to Vanessa's mouth and watched her bite into it. Vanessa chewed the sandwich and swallowed. She smiled and kissed Zac's lips.

"Thanks babe" Vanessa said.

"No problem" Zac said.

"I wonder what the baby will look like" Vanessa said as she looked at her bump.

Zac smiled.

"Well, if it's a girl, I think she will be as beautiful as you" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled and blushed.

"You are too cute" Vanessa said.

"I'm talented" Zac laughed.

Vanessa laughed.

"Now, you are just full of it" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly but passionately. Vanessa deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around Zac's neck. Zac picked Vanessa up and set her on the counter. He started kissing her neck softly.

"Mm" Vanessa moaned.

"I'm going to take you upstairs" Zac said.

"No, I need you now" Vanessa said breathlessly.

"Are you sure?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded.

"Yeah" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips again.

Zac started removing Vanessa's pants and threw them on the ground. Vanessa then unbuttoned Zac's pants and shirt. Zac looked at Vanessa.

"Are you sure you are okay with this?" Zac asked.

"Yes baby. Make love to me" Vanessa said.

Zac entered Vanessa and heard her moan. The couple had sex in the kitchen, showing as much love as they could for each other. After they finished, Vanessa looked at Zac and smiled.

"Sex feels so good when you are pregnant" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"Good, I didn't hurt you though right?" Zac asked.

"No" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

"I've missed this feeling" Vanessa said.

"I've missed it too. My mom said that sex is good for the baby" Zac said.

"Oh really? Is that true or do you just want more sex?" Vanessa joked.

"It's true, but it's always the best when we have sex" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled. The phone rang and the couple looked at each other. Zac reached over and grabbed the phone with Vanessa still in his arms.

"Hello?" Zac answered.

"Hey Zac, how's it going?" Stella asked.

"Hey Stella, everything is fine. How are you?" Zac asked as he looked at Vanessa.

"Good, how's Van?" Stella asked.

"She's fine. The baby is growing and everything is really good right now" Zac said as he winked at Vanessa.

"Is Van busy?" Stella asked.

Vanessa nodded her head and Zac got the message.

"She is really tired, Stella. I think she is about to take a nap" Zac lied.

"Okay, tell her to call me when she can" Stella said.

"I will. Love you Stell" Zac said.

"Love you too, Zaccy" Stella said.

Zac hung up the phone.

"What did Stella want?" Vanessa asked.

"She wanted to talk to you. I don't know what she wanted to talk to you about. She told me to tell you to call her later" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips passionately.

Zac pulled back and smiled.

"Babe, just relax a little" Zac said.

"You don't want to do it again?" Vanessa asked.

"No, that's not what I meant, Van. I want to do it again, trust me I do. But, we should space each time out a little. Too much of a good thing, may be bad for the baby" Zac said as he put his hand on Vanessa's leg.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

"Come on, let's get you and the little one to bed" Zac said.

"Little one?" Vanessa asked.

"Since we don't know the sex of the baby yet, I had to figure out a nickname for the baby" Zac said.

"Oh, it's cute" Vanessa said.

"Thank you" Zac said.

Zac and Vanessa walked upstairs and got into bed. The couple fell asleep and thought about what life would be like once the baby came. The next morning, Vanessa woke up and saw Zac gone. She got up and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Vanessa emerged from the bathroom and walked downstairs. She went into the kitchen and saw Zac drinking a glass of water.

"Hey mommy, how are you feeling today?" Zac asked.

"Hi daddy, I'm feeling pretty good" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"You ready to go?" Zac asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Zac picked up his keys and took Vanessa's hand. The couple left the house and got into the car. Zac drove to Dr. Brown's office and parked his car in the parking lot. He went to Vanessa's side and helped her out of the car. The couple entwined their fingers and walked into the office. Vanessa signed herself in and sat next to Zac.

"I can't wait to see the baby" Vanessa said happily.

"I know, I can't wait either" Zac said.

A nurse came into the waiting room with a file.

"Vanessa Hudgens?" the nurse called.

Zac stood up and helped Vanessa get up. The couple walked over to the nurse and followed her into an exam room.

"Vanessa, please put this gown on and Dr. Brown will be in shortly" the nurse said.

The nurse left and Vanessa started to undress herself. She then put the gown on and turned to Zac.

"Can you tie it please?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah honey" Zac said as he tied her gown.

Vanessa then went over to the exam table and sat down. She smiled.

"You are in a good mood today" Zac said.

"I'm just really happy about everything right now" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

Zac smiled.

"I am happy you are happy baby" Zac said.

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brown came into the room.

"Hi guys. How are you feeling, Vanessa?" Dr. Brown asked.

"I'm doing okay" Vanessa said.

"Do you have any more morning sickness?" Dr. Brown asked as she washed her hands.

"No, thankfully" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"Any muscle pain?" Dr. Brown asked.

"A little bit" Vanessa said.

"Alright, let's take a look" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa lied down on the exam table. Zac entwined their fingers together. Dr. Brown pulled Vanessa's gown up, exposing her stomach and squeezed gel onto Vanessa's stomach. Dr. Brown then took the wand and moved it over Vanessa's stomach and stopped.

"There's your baby, guys" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa and Zac smiled.

"Is the baby healthy?" Vanessa asked.

"From what I can see, yes" Dr. Brown said.

"That's good" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac and smiled. Zac smiled back and winked at her.

"Okay, I just need to examine you. Can you let your legs fall to the sides for me?" Dr. Brown asked.

Vanessa spread her legs apart and let them fall to the sides. She took a deep breath. Dr. Brown examined Vanessa and came up a couple seconds later.

"Everything looks fine, Vanessa" Dr. Brown said.

"Thank you" Vanessa said.

"I will see you in a month" Dr. Brown said.

Dr. Brown left and Vanessa looked at Zac and smiled.

"He or she is healthy and that's all that matters" Zac said.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

The rest of the day, Zac and Vanessa talked about the new addition that would be coming in five months.


	9. Hormones and More

The next couple of weeks had gone by fast for the couple. Vanessa was five and a half months pregnant and very hormonal. She wanted everything done perfectly, if it was less than that, Vanessa would yell or cry about how something needs to be done. One morning, Vanessa turned over in bed and opened her eyes slowly. She saw that Zac was not in bed. Vanessa got out of bed and walked downstairs. She went into the kitchen and didn't see her boyfriend. Vanessa looked through the whole house and couldn't find Zac. She then walked to the door to the backyard and looked out. Zac was playing basketball in the backyard, shirtless. Vanessa smiled and walked outside. She walked to the chair that was next to the basketball court and sat down.

"Looking good Efron" Vanessa said.

Zac turned around and smiled. He walked over to Vanessa and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"Good morning" Zac said.

"Morning" Vanessa said.

"Sorry for not being in bed when you woke up. I just needed time to think" Zac said.

"What are you thinking about?" Vanessa asked.

"I am thinking about a lot of things" Zac said.

"Like?" Vanessa pressed.

"Like things that you do not need to worry about right now" Zac said.

"Zac, please tell me. I hate when you do this" Vanessa said.

"Babe, don't worry about it" Zac said.

Vanessa crossed her arms over her bump and walked into the house. Zac sighed.

"These mood swings are killing me" Zac said to himself as he put the basketball down and walked into the house.

Zac walked upstairs and went into the bedroom, where he saw Vanessa lying on the bed with her back facing him. Zac climbed onto the bed and kissed Vanessa's shoulder.

"Go away" Vanessa said.

"I'm scared of becoming a father. There. That's what I am thinking about" Zac said as he left the room.

Vanessa sat up and looked at the door. She wiped her tears away and walked downstairs. Vanessa walked into the living room where Zac was sitting. She sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa said softly.

Zac looked at Vanessa.

"It's okay, Van. It was my fault" Zac said.

"Why are you scared to become a father, baby?" Vanessa asked.

"I mean, it's scary to think that you are going to be responsible for another human life, besides your girlfriend and yourself. I don't know how everything is going to go. Like what if we broke up? How would we both get to see and take care of the baby?" Zac asked.

"Honey, we just have to take everything day by day. If we broke up, then we would have to figure out a plan of when we would both see the baby. I know you are scared, I am too. Thank you for telling me how you felt" Vanessa said as she snuggled into her boyfriend's chest.

"You are welcome. But we have a lot of to think about before this baby even thinks about coming" Zac said.

"Yeah I know. But at least the room is done, we have security, and we set up everything at the hospital. Those were the hardest things" Vanessa said.

"Yeah I guess" Zac said as he put his hand on Vanessa's stomach.

Vanessa leaned over and kissed Zac's lips.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I love you too babe and I love you too little one" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's expanding stomach.

Vanessa smiled.

"Stella wants to come over and visit. Are you busy?" Vanessa asked.

"No I'm not. When is she coming?" Zac asked.

"She's coming in an hour" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Vanessa leaned in and kissed Zac's lips and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend.

"I'm going to go get ready" Vanessa said.

"Alright" Zac said.

Vanessa got up and walked upstairs. She put some light makeup on and went downstairs. The doorbell rang and Vanessa walked to the door and opened it. Stella smiled when she saw Vanessa.

"Hey mommy, how are you feeling?" Stella asked as she put her hand on Vanessa's stomach.

"I'm okay. Tired, but that's normal. How are you?" Vanessa asked as she hugged her sister.

"Fine, do you know if the baby is a boy or a girl yet?" Stella asked.

"No Stell, we are waiting until the baby is born to find out" Vanessa said.

Vanessa and Stella sat down in the living room.

"Has the baby kicked yet?" Stella asked.

"Not yet, but my book said that it's supposed to start kicking around five months" Vanessa said as she folded her hands on top of her bump.

Zac came into the room and smiled.

"Hey, Stella" Zac said as he hugged his girlfriend's sister.

"Hey daddy, how's it going?" Stella asked.

"Everything is fine. How are you?" Zac asked as he sat next to Vanessa.

"I'm good. I can't believe you guys are going to be parents in four months" Stella said.

"I know, it's crazy and really scary at the same time" Vanessa said.

"Are you scared about the birth?" Stella asked.

"I am scared about all of it. Labor, the birth, raising a baby. It's just a lot of things to think about but I think we will be okay" Vanessa said as she looked at Zac.

Zac smiled and put his hand on her bump and rubbed it soothingly.

"You have Zac and mom. They can help you feel better about it. I have never had a baby, so unfortunately I can't help you" Stella said.

"I am just scared of the pain" Vanessa said.

"You can always get an epidural, Van" Zac said.

"Yeah, I know but I don't want the baby to come out drugged" Vanessa said.

"I understand, but babe if you are in a lot of pain for several hours, maybe you should get it" Zac suggested.

"Just think about it Van. You still have a few months until the baby comes" Stella said.

"I will think about it, okay?" Vanessa said.

"Alright" Zac said.

"But the baby is healthy right?" Stella asked.

"Yeah, as of right now, it's healthy" Vanessa said.

"Well that's the most important thing" Stella said.

"Exactly, we can worry about everything else later" Zac said.

"Do you have any names picked out yet?" Stella asked.

Zac and Vanessa looked at each other and smiled.

"I have a couple but we haven't talked about names yet" Vanessa said.

"Whose last name is the baby going to have?" Stella asked.

"It's father's and it always will" Vanessa said annoyed.

"Okay, sorry I asked" Stella said.

Vanessa got up and walked upstairs and closed the bedroom room door. Zac heard the door close and sighed. He looked at Stella.

"I didn't mean to make her upset, Zac. I was just curious" Stella said.

"I know, Stella. I know. We have talked a lot about that and it just bothers her because we don't know what the future is going to hold for us. It's not your fault" Zac said.

"Okay, please tell her that I'm sorry and that I love her" Stella said.

"I will" Zac said.

Stella hugged Zac and left the house. Zac closed the front door and walked upstairs. He knocked on the bedroom door.

"Baby, are you okay?" Zac asked.

Zac heard movement behind the door and saw the door open and reveal Vanessa's face. Zac opened his arms and Vanessa walked into them.

"You okay?" Zac asked as he wrapped his arms around Vanessa.

"I hate when people ask me if the baby is going to have your last name. You are and always will be it's father" Vanessa said.

"I know honey, but Stella was just asking. She didn't know" Zac said as he moved a stray hair out of Vanessa's face.

"I know that she didn't know. It just makes me upset that people think that just because we are not married that the baby isn't going to have your last name" Vanessa said.

"It shouldn't matter what other people think of our decisions babe. We are this baby's parents and we are going to decide what's best for it and our family" Zac said as he put his hand on Vanessa's bump.

Vanessa nodded. Zac kissed Vanessa's cheek softly.

"Plus, I know we are going to get married in the future so the baby will have my last name either way" Zac said.

"How do you know we are going to get married?" Vanessa asked.

"I know because I love you and I would die without you" Zac said sincerely.

Vanessa smiled.

"I love you too" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips but pulled back suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Vanessa asked.

Zac looked at Vanessa's stomach and put his hand on her bump.

"The baby is kicking, Van" Zac said as he smiled.

Vanessa smiled and tears ran down her cheeks.

"Really?" Vanessa asked.

"Put your hand here" Zac said as he moved Vanessa's hand to the spot where he felt the kick.

Vanessa felt a little kick and smiled.

"Oh my god, that's our baby" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"Yeah, I love you baby" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's stomach.

"I love you too daddy" Vanessa said in a baby voice.

Zac's phone started to ring and he took it out of his pocket.

"Hello?" Zac answered.

"Hey, a magazine just called and wanted to know if you and Vanessa want to talk about Vanessa's pregnancy and how you feel about becoming parents. Would you guys be okay with that?" Rob, Zac's publicist asked.

"I have to talk to Vanessa about it. We haven't talked about it. I will let you know" Zac said.

"Alright, Zac. Take care" Rob said.

Zac hung up his phone and looked at Vanessa.

"Who was that?" Vanessa asked.

"That was Rob. Magazines are calling and wanting to know if we want to talk about your pregnancy and how we feel about becoming parents. They want it to be a cover story" Zac said.

"What did you tell him?" Vanessa asked.

"I told him that I need to talk to you about it. Since we haven't discussed whether or not we were going to have the baby in the public eye or not" Zac said.

"I don't know" Vanessa said.

"Do you want to think about it for a day?" Zac asked.

"Okay, do you want the baby to be in the public?" Vanessa asked.

"We have our life and we don't listen to what other people say about us. I think that if we only bring the baby into the public for certain things, I think it would be okay. But, it's up to you" Zac said.

"I will think about it" Vanessa said.

"Okay, and I won't be mad if you don't agree with me. You are it's mother and it's our decision" Zac said.

"I know, being a parent is a lot of work and the baby isn't even here yet" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, but in the end the baby is going to be safe and healthy" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Yeah, we have to think of some names" Vanessa said.

"I know, I have a couple that I am thinking of" Zac said.

"What are they?" Vanessa asked.

"I like Noah, Jacob, Ryan, and Ben" Zac said.

"For boys. What if the baby is a girl?"Vanessa asked.

"I like Brie, Hannah, Allie, and Sara" Zac said.

"I like those" Vanessa said.

"Which ones?" Zac asked.

"I like Noah and Jacob for the boys and I like Hannah and Allie for the girls" Vanessa said.

"We just have to narrow it down to one name for each now" Zac said.

"I like Noah because I would think of the Notebook (do not own)" Vanessa said.

"What about Jacob?" Zac asked.

"I like that one too. This is hard" Vanessa said.

"Jacob Efron or Noah Efron" Zac said.

"I like Jacob. I want that to be our son's name" Vanessa said.

"Okay, and what if it's a girl? Which one do you like the most?" Zac asked.

"Hannah Efron and Allie Efron. That one is hard. I like both" Vanessa said.

"I know you do baby, but you aren't have triplets. You have to pick one" Zac said.

"I like Allie. That is what I want our daughter's name to be" Vanessa said.

"I like them both. Jacob or Allie Efron" Zac said.

"Me too. We will just have to wait and find out when he or she is born" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's lips softly and pulled back. Vanessa snuggled into Zac's side. The couple relaxed around the house and thought about what life with their child would be like.


	10. The Pressure Is On

The next morning, Vanessa woke up and turned over in bed and looked at Zac, who was sleeping. She smiled and kissed his head softly. Vanessa got out of bed and walked into the closet and picked out her clothes for the day. She then walked into the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Vanessa emerged from the bathroom and saw Zac sitting up in bed.

"Good morning" Zac said.

"Good morning" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

"How's the little one doing today?" Zac asked as he put his hand on Vanessa's stomach.

"Kicking, I made my decision about the magazine" Vanessa said.

Zac looked at Vanessa.

"What did you decide to do?" Zac asked.

"I will do the cover, but I have conditions" Vanessa said as she held up her finger.

"What are the conditions?" Zac asked.

"I don't want to be naked at all. I want to have clothes on" Vanessa said.

"Okay, that should not be a problem" Zac said.

Vanessa sighed and put her hand on her bump.

"You my dear, are going to be famous and you don't even know it yet" Vanessa said as she looked at her stomach.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's stomach and then her lips.

"I am going to call Rob and tell him what we decided" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac got out of bed and picked up his phone. He called Rob and told him what they had decided to do. A couple weeks later, Vanessa and Zac had been getting ready for their photo shoot for their magazine cover and article. The photographers had picked out clothes for the couple to wear. Zac and Vanessa arrived at the studio and looked at the background that would be behind them when they would take their pictures. Vanessa looked around the set and started to feel apprehensive of how she would look in the pictures. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt Zac snake his arms around her.

"Van baby, they want you to get dressed in the first outfit" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa walked over to the stylists and started getting ready for the first set of pictures. Twenty minutes later, Vanessa walked back onto the set and looked at Zac. Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's cheek softly.

"You look beautiful baby" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled even though she didn't feel beautiful at all. The photographers placed the couple where they wanted and started to take pictures. After they finished the first set of pictures, the couple were rushed back to get dressed in another outfit. The stylist that was helping Vanessa put the finishing touches on the outfit and let Vanessa look in the mirror.

"What do you think Vanessa?" the stylist asked.

"I look horrible. I am fat and I look ugly. My boobs are so big. I can't do this" Vanessa said as she started to cry.

"Vanessa, you look beautiful. Don't think that" the stylist said.

The stylist left Vanessa and walked over to where Zac was getting ready.

"Zac? Vanessa needs you" the stylist said.

Zac looked at the stylist and followed her. He stopped when he saw Vanessa crying in her last outfit.

"I will give you guys a minute" the stylist said.

"Thank you" Zac said.

The stylist left the couple. Zac looked at Vanessa.

"Baby, what happened?" Zac asked softly.

"I can't do this Zac" Vanessa cried.

"Do what?" Zac asked.

"I can't pose for pictures and make people think I look good while I am pregnant when I don't feel that way. My boobs are huge and I am fat. I shouldn't have agreed to this" Vanessa said.

"Baby, you look beautiful and you are most beautiful pregnant woman I have ever met in my life. Yeah your body has changed a little, but you are still the same Vanessa that everyone loves. I know that I love you" Zac said.

"Really?" Vanessa asked.

"Really, Van. I love you and you are so gorgeous. Our child is inside of you and there is nothing sexier than that" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

"Do you want to finish the shoot?" Zac asked.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"Alright, come on" Zac said as he put his arm around Vanessa.

The couple walked back to the set. The photographers placed the couple where they wanted them to be and started taking pictures again. Once the photographers finished, Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"I am proud of you, Van" Zac said as he entwined their fingers together.

Vanessa smiled. The couple changed back into their regular clothes and went over to the photographer and looked at the pictures.

"Vanessa, looks gorgeous here" Marc, the photographer said.

"I agree, what do you think babe?" Zac asked.

"I just look pregnant" Vanessa said.

Zac wrapped his arm around Vanessa and kissed her head.

"Do you want us to edit them Vanessa?" Marc asked.

"No, because then it wouldn't show the real me and it wouldn't show what I actually look like pregnant" Vanessa said.

"I agree" Zac said.

"Okay" Marc said.

Zac and Vanessa left the studio and got into the car.

"How are you feeling sweetie?" Zac asked.

"Okay, but I want my body back. I get that the baby needs to be in it, but it's just making me feel horrible about myself" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's cheek.

"I know honey, it's almost over. I know it's been tough on you" Zac said as he drove.

"I don't feel pretty and I don't even want anyone to see me" Vanessa said.

"Van don't say that. You are beautiful babe. Everyone knows you are" Zac said.

"But I don't feel that way" Vanessa said.

"When the baby comes, your body will bounce back" Zac said.

"I hope so" Vanessa said.

"It will, don't worry" Zac said as he pulled into the driveway.

Zac parked his car and then went to Vanessa's side and helped her out. He kissed her lips sweetly.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

"Come on, let's go inside" Zac said as he took her hand.

Zac unlocked the door and the couple walked into the house. Vanessa walked upstairs and went into the bedroom. She got onto the bed and looked at her bump. Vanessa put her hand on her stomach and felt the baby kicking. She smiled. Vanessa started thinking about the baby and how it would impact both Zac and her careers. She started to feel very scared about what would happen in the future. Zac's career was booming and he was getting movie offers all the time. She didn't want to ruin his career by bringing a baby into the mix. Vanessa was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt something wet on her cheek. She put her finger on her cheek and realized that she was crying. Vanessa took a deep breath. She got up and walked downstairs. Vanessa walked into the Zac's office and saw his working. Zac looked up and his face softened.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Zac asked as he got up from his seat.

"I'm scared" Vanessa choked.

Zac wrapped his arms around Vanessa. He kissed her head softly and rubbed her back soothingly. Zac brought Vanessa over to the couch that was in the office. The couple sat down and Zac looked at his crying girlfriend.

"What are you scared about?" Zac asked.

"The baby is going to ruin your career. You have worked so hard to make your career what it is and this baby will just ruin it" Vanessa cried.

"Vanessa, the baby is not going to ruin my career. Even if it did, I would pick you and the baby regardless of what it would do to my career. You and this baby are my family and always will be. You come first" Zac said.

"How do you know it's not going to ruin it? I should just leave" Vanessa said as she got up.

"No you are not going to leave" Zac said taking her hand.

Vanessa turned around and looked at Zac.

"I keep my personal life and my job separately. You know that. That is not going to change when the baby comes. You and the baby are my first priority" Zac said.

Vanessa cried and Zac took Vanessa into his arms.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa cried.

"Hey, don't apologize. You are not going to ruin my career okay?" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded. Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly but passionately.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

Zac wiped Vanessa's tears away. He then kneeled down moved Vanessa's shirt up. Zac kissed Vanessa's stomach softly.

"I love you baby" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"I love you too daddy" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"When is your next doctor's appointment?" Zac asked.

"Tomorrow" Vanessa said.

"I can't believe you are six months pregnant already, it went by so fast" Zac said.

"I know, I can't wait to meet Allie or Jacob" Vanessa said.

"I forgot to ask you, do you want your mom in the room with us when you have the baby?" Zac asked.

"I just want you there with me. I don't want anyone else. Everyone can come after the baby is born" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

"I just want everything to be peaceful and the birth is a private thing between the two of us" Vanessa said.

"I understand" Zac said.

"I'm going to make dinner" Vanessa said.

"No you are not. I will make dinner" Zac said.

"Why can't I?" Vanessa asked.

"I just want you to relax sweetheart, that's all" Zac said as he kissed her cheek.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac got off the couch and helped Vanessa up. The couple then walked out of the office and went into the kitchen.

"What do you feel like eating babe?" Zac asked.

Vanessa put her hand on her bump.

"The baby wants Italian" Vanessa said.

"Then the baby will get Italian" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's nose.

Zac opened the cabinets and pulled out pasta and then went to the refrigerator and got tomato sauce. He then walked to the counter and put all the ingredients down. Zac pulled out two pots and set them on the stovetop. He then filled one with water and turned on the heat. Zac turned and looked at Vanessa. He smiled at her. Vanessa then walked closer to Zac and put her arm around him. Zac put his hand on Vanessa's stomach.

" The baby is kicking a lot today" Zac said.

"Yeah, I just wish I could get a little break though" Vanessa said.

"I know" Zac said.

Zac checked the water and then put the pasta into the pot. He then put the sauce into the other pot.

"I'm so tired" Vanessa said.

"Is the baby bugging you?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, imagine having someone punch you in the stomach every five minutes and you will feel what I feel" Vanessa said.

"I'm sorry honey. Do you want to go lay down while I finish dinner?" Zac asked.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"Alright, let me know if you need anything" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she walked to the living room.

Vanessa lied down on the couch and put her hand on her bump. She rubbed her stomach in soothing circles.

"Sweetheart, please let mommy relax" Vanessa said as she looked at her bump.

Zac came into the room and smiled. He loved when Vanessa talked to the baby. Vanessa's book had said that it was good for the parents to talk to the baby before it's born.

"Van, dinner is ready" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac and smiled.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa got off the couch and walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Zac sat down in front of her. The couple started eating and talked about the baby.

"Are you feeling a little better?" Zac asked.

"A little bit but he or she is still kicking a lot" Vanessa said.

"Well at least you are feeling a little better. What time is your appointment tomorrow?" Zac asked.

"Eleven, are you able to go?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, I can go. I just wanted to know the time" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

The rest of the day, Vanessa and Zac relaxed around the house. They couldn't believe that in three and a half months they will be able to meet their baby.


	11. There Are A Lot Of Things On My Mind

The next morning, Zac turned over in bed and opened his eyes slowly. He saw Vanessa sleeping soundly with her hand on her bump. Zac couldn't believe that Vanessa was six months pregnant today. Vanessa started to stir and her eyes opened slowly. She looked at Zac and smiled.

"Good morning" Vanessa said.

"Good morning" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

"My appointment is at eleven" Vanessa said.

"Okay, go take a shower and we will leave" Zac said.

"Alright" Vanessa said as she got out of bed.

"The bump is getting bigger" Zac said.

"I know, in three months the baby will be here. I can't believe it" Vanessa said.

"It's crazy" Zac said.

Vanessa walked over to the closet and picked out her clothes and walked into the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom.

"Are you ready to go?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah" Zac said.

Zac took Vanessa's hand and the couple walked downstairs and left the house. Zac helped Vanessa get into the car and then went to the driver's side and got in. He started driving to Dr. Brown's office.

"Are you excited to see the baby today babe?" Vanessa asked.

"Of course I am excited. I can't wait to see what he or she looks like now. Are you excited?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, I am excited but I am more excited to have him or her come out so we can see the baby looks like and finally find out the gender" Vanessa said.

"I am excited for him or her to come out too but hopefully the baby won't come too soon" Zac said.

"Yeah, I hope it stays in until I am nine months pregnant" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

Zac pulled into the parking lot and parked his car. He walked over to Vanessa's side and helped her get out. The couple entwined their fingers together and walked into the office. Vanessa signed herself in and sat next to Zac. Zac put his hand on Vanessa's bump and felt the baby kick. A few minutes later, a nurse came into the waiting room with a file.

"Vanessa Hudgens?" the nurse called.

Vanessa and Zac got up and walked over to the nurse. The nurse escorted them into a room where Vanessa's vitals were taken. After the nurse recorded the information, she then escorted the couple into an exam room.

"Vanessa, please change into this gown and Dr. Brown will be with you shortly" the nurse said as she handed Vanessa a gown.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

The nurse left and Vanessa took off her clothes and changed into the gown. She then sat down on the exam table.

"Wow, the baby looks bigger when you are in the gown" Zac said as he looked at Vanessa.

"Are you calling me fat Zac?" Vanessa asked.

"No honey, I am not" Zac said.

"You better not be" Vanessa said annoyed.

Zac sighed. He knew that Vanessa was having a mood swing. Zac just let Vanessa get whatever she needed to do or say out so it would be done. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Dr. Brown came in and smiled.

"Hi guys, how are you feeling Vanessa?" Dr. Brown asked.

"I'm feeling okay. I am exhausted and my body aches though" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"That's normal. Are you having any pain?" Dr. Brown asked as she washed her hands.

"No" Vanessa said.

"Okay, let's see how the baby is doing today" Dr. Brown said as she turned on the ultrasound.

Dr. Brown let the ultrasound heat up for a few minutes and then took a bottle of gel and lifted Vanessa's gown and squeezed a little bit onto her stomach. She then took the wand and moved the gel around Vanessa's stomach and stopped.

"There's your baby" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa and Zac looked at the monitor and smiled.

"The baby is getting big" Vanessa said.

"Yes and it looks healthy. Do you still not want to know the sex?" Dr. Brown asked.

Vanessa and Zac looked at each other.

"No, we want it to be a surprise" Vanessa said.

"Alright, I need to examine you" Dr. Brown said.

Dr. Brown wiped the gel off of Vanessa's stomach and put her gloves on. Vanessa spread her legs apart and took a deep breath and looked at Zac. Zac took Vanessa's hand in his and entwined their fingers together.

"Alright Vanessa, you are going to feel some pressure" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa closed her eyes and held Zac's hand tighter. Dr. Brown examined Vanessa and then came up and threw her gloves away.

"The baby is coming down, which is a good sign" Dr. Brown said.

"When the baby comes down does that mean I am going to go into labor soon?" Vanessa asked.

"No, it just means that your body is starting to get ready for when you do go into labor. You still have three months until you are due. It's not something you should worry about" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she looked at Zac.

"Any other questions?" Dr. Brown asked.

"When Vanessa does go into labor, what do we do?" Zac asked.

"When she goes into labor, you first have to time how far the contractions are and then once you find that out, you can call me and I will give you instructions on what the next step should be" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Zac said.

"I will print these pictures for you and I will see you in a month" Dr. Brown said.

"Alright, see you" Vanessa said as Dr. Brown left.

Vanessa looked at Zac and smiled.

"He or she is growing and healthy. That's what matters the most" Zac said.

"Yeah" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

Vanessa got off the exam table and changed back into her clothes. After she changed, Vanessa looked at Zac.

"You ready?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, let's go home" Vanessa said.

Zac took Vanessa's hand and the couple walked out of the exam room and left the office. Zac helped Vanessa get into the car. Vanessa put her hand on her bump as Zac drove out of the parking lot. Zac looked over at Vanessa and saw she had fallen asleep. He smiled. Zac drove home and pulled into the driveway and parked his car. He then got out of the car and went to the passenger side. Zac carefully took Vanessa's seat belt off and heard her mumble.

"Zac" Vanessa mumbled.

"Go back to sleep, sweetie. I am going to bring you inside. It's okay" Zac said.

Vanessa closed her eyes and Zac carefully lifted his girlfriend into his arms. He then walked to the front door and unlocked the door without waking Vanessa up. Zac walked into the house and went upstairs. He walked into the master bedroom and set Vanessa carefully on the bed. Zac put a blanket over Vanessa and kissed her forehead.

"I will be downstairs if you need me" Zac whispered.

Zac walked downstairs and went into his office. Two hours later, Vanessa opened her eyes slowly and put her hand on her bump and smiled when she felt the baby kicking.

"Hi honey" Vanessa said as she rubbed her stomach soothingly.

Vanessa got out of bed and walked downstairs. She went to Zac's office and saw him on his computer. Vanessa walked into the office and sat down on the couch. Zac looked up from his computer and smiled at Vanessa.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, the baby is kicking a lot stronger" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"Really?" Zac asked.

"Come here" Vanessa said.

Zac got up from his desk and walked over to the couch and sat next to Vanessa. Vanessa put Zac's hand on her stomach where the baby was kicking. Zac smiled when he felt the baby kicking.

"Wow, he or she is really kicking hard. It's not painful right?" Zac asked.

"No, but sometimes when it decides to kick harder its uncomfortable" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Vanessa kissed Zac's lips softly. Zac kissed Vanessa's lips and wrapped his arms around her. Vanessa moved so that she was in Zac's arms. Zac lifted Vanessa up and started walking out of his office. Vanessa kissed Zac's lips passionately as he walked upstairs and went into the bedroom. Vanessa took Zac's shirt off and Zac did the same to Vanessa. Zac then took Vanessa's pants off and carefully removed her underwear. Vanessa unbuttoned Zac's jeans and kissed him sweetly. Zac pulled back and looked into Vanessa's eyes.

"You ready?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, just be gentle please baby" Vanessa said.

"I will" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

Zac and Vanessa made love for hours. The couple showed how much they loved one another with passion. After they finished, Vanessa and Zac lied in bed and were talking about the baby.

"When the baby comes are you going to go back to work?" Vanessa asked as she kissed Zac's chest softly.

"I am going to wait until we both get the hang of everything. Once we figure everything out, I will. But it will be hard to leave you guys" Zac said as he put his hand on Vanessa's stomach.

"Yeah, taking care of a newborn will be difficult but I have my parents and yours to go to if I need any help" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"You are going to be a great mother Van" Zac said softly.

Vanessa smiled and kissed Zac's lips.

"You are going to be a great father, Zac. I love you so much" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

Vanessa and Zac continued to talk about what life would be like once the baby came. A couple weeks later, Vanessa was seven months pregnant. She was very uncomfortable and just wanted the baby to come. Zac tried to make her feel as comfortable as he could but nothing seemed to work. Vanessa would also sleep for most of the day because the baby would wear her out. One day, Zac walked upstairs and went into the bedroom and smiled when he saw Vanessa sleeping. He knew that he had to wake her up because she would be awake all night if she continued to sleep. Zac sat on the edge of the bed and kissed Vanessa's forehead softly and saw Vanessa's eyes open slowly.

"Baby, you need to stay awake, okay? You won't be able to sleep tonight if you keep sleeping" Zac said.

"I'm so tired though" Vanessa moaned.

"I know you are babe. But you need to stay awake" Zac said.

Vanessa sighed and looked at Zac. Zac smiled.

"Can I get you anything?" Zac asked.

"No" Vanessa said.

"Do you want to help me make dinner?" Zac asked.

"Okay" Vanessa mumbled.

"Alright, honey" Zac said.

Zac helped Vanessa get off the bed. He kissed Vanessa's lips softly and the couple walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. Zac picked Vanessa up and set her on the counter.

"What do you want for dinner babe?" Zac asked.

"I want chocolate" Vanessa said simply.

Zac smiled and laughed.

"You want to eat chocolate for dinner?" Zac asked.

"Yeah the baby wants it" Vanessa said.

"You don't want meat or anything like that?" Zac asked.

"I don't want it. I want chocolate" Vanessa said.

Zac sighed.

"Alright" Zac said.

Zac walked to a cabinet in the kitchen and took out a box of chocolate. He handed the box to Vanessa.

"Knock yourself out" Zac said.

Vanessa opened the box and took a piece of chocolate and put it into her mouth. She closed her eyes and smiled. Vanessa opened her eyes.

"Thank you baby" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

"No problem, just don't eat too much of it" Zac said.

"I won't, here do you want any?" Vanessa asked as she held a piece to his mouth.

"No, thank you though" Zac said.

Vanessa ate her chocolate and then put the box away. She looked at Zac and smiled. Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's neck and kissed his lips.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"I love you too, and I love you little one" Zac said as he put his hand on Vanessa's bump.

Vanessa smiled.

"I can't wait for this baby to be born. No more aches and pains and clothes not fitting. We will be a family" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's head.

"Two Efron's in the house and a Hudgens. We may need to fix that" Zac said.

"What do you mean?" Vanessa asked.

"Well, I love you and I know that you love me, so why don't we get married?" Zac suggested.

Vanessa was silent. She was having a baby in two months and Zac was bringing up marriage. Everything was spinning in Vanessa's head.

"Babe, you okay?" Zac asked.

"Shouldn't we wait a little while before we get married? We are having a baby and he or she isn't even here yet. I am trying to take one thing at a time, Zac. I'm sorry" Vanessa cried as she got off the counter and ran upstairs.

Zac looked at the stairs and sighed. He knew it was a mistake to bring up marriage. Vanessa was right. They needed to take things one step at a time. Zac walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs. He saw the bedroom door closed and debated whether to open it or not. Zac knocked on the door politely.

"Van, are you okay?" Zac asked.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa said.

"Baby, do you want to talk about it?" Zac asked.

Vanessa opened the bedroom door and looked at her boyfriend. She had tears running down her face and her hand on her bump.

"Come on, let's talk" Zac said.

Zac and Vanessa walked into their bedroom and sat on the bed.

"Van, I didn't mean to bring up marriage. I know that we are having a baby and that the baby hasn't even come yet. I'm sorry" Zac said.

"Zac I want to get married to you but right now we need to focus on the baby and making sure he or she is healthy and all of that. When you brought up marriage it made me mix the baby and getting married in my head and it was overwhelming. I do want to get married to you and I want us to be a family. We will always be a family because of the baby. I just want us to be able to take care of the baby and that to be a priority right now. I love you so much" Vanessa said.

"I understand. Yeah maybe I was wrong for bringing up marriage right now. I didn't want to overwhelm or stress you out, Van. I agree that we should focus on the baby right now. I love you too" Zac said.

Vanessa leaned over and kissed Zac's lips softly.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa said.

"Hey, don't be sorry baby. When we both want to get married, then we will get married" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded. Zac put his hand on Vanessa's stomach and Vanessa put her hand on top of his. The couple couldn't wait until their baby was finally born.


	12. The Joy Of Pregnancy

A couple days later, Vanessa was sleeping in bed. The pregnancy had been making her very tired. Zac would check on Vanessa every couple of hours and make sure she was feeling okay. One night, Zac was making phone calls to make sure all of his appearances were cancelled for the next couple of weeks so he could be home with Vanessa. Vanessa walked into Zac's office with her hand on her bump. Zac looked up from his computer and his face softened. Vanessa had tears running down her face.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Zac asked as he got up from his desk.

"I am having really bad cramps and they won't go away" Vanessa said.

"Do you want me to call Dr. Brown?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded.

"Okay honey. Just relax" Zac said as he helped Vanessa sit down.

Zac then walked back to his desk and picked up his phone. He dialed Dr. Brown's number and waited for her to answer.

"Hello?" Dr. Brown answered.

"Hi Dr. Brown, it's Zac Efron, Vanessa's boyfriend. Vanessa is having some really bad cramps. What should I do? Do you want me to bring her to the hospital?" Zac asked.

"Hi Zac. Vanessa is seven months pregnant. She is going to be uncomfortable and it's completely normal. Tell her to take a warm bath so that her muscles relax. If they do not go away, then bring her to the hospital" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay, thank you" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac as she rubbed her bump in soothing circles.

"What did she say?" Vanessa asked.

Zac got up from his desk and walked over to where Vanessa was sitting.

"She said that you should take a warm bath so that your muscles relax. She also said it is normal for you to have cramps. If they don't go away though, she wants you to come to the hospital" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"Come on, I will make you a bath" Zac said as he helped Vanessa stand up.

Zac put his arm around Vanessa and the couple walked out of the office and went upstairs. They walked into the bathroom and Zac turned on the water and let the tub fill up. He then put Vanessa's favorite soap into the water. Vanessa started taking her clothes off and Zac helped her into the tub.

"Does the water feel okay?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded.

"Alright, call me when you want to get out or if the pain gets worse" Zac said.

"Okay, thank you" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's cheek softly. He walked out of the bathroom. Vanessa's body started to relax in the warm water. She put her hand on her bump, which was sticking out of the water.

"I love you baby" Vanessa said as she rubbed her stomach.

The baby kicked Vanessa's hand and she smiled. She couldn't wait for the baby to be born. Vanessa was thinking about how blessed she was. She was in love with an amazing man that would do anything for her and she was having his child. Vanessa couldn't wait to see what the future had in store for them. An hour later, there was a knock on the bathroom room door.

"Come in" Vanessa said.

Zac opened the door and smiled. He picked up a chair that was in the room and brought it over to the tub.

"How are you feeling baby?" Zac asked.

"I feel better and the cramps are gone" Vanessa said.

"That's good" Zac said.

"Yeah, I love you" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"I love you too sweetie, so much" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I think I am going to go to bed" Vanessa said.

"Alright, honey. Do you need help getting out?" Zac asked.

Yeah" Vanessa said.

Zac helped Vanessa get out of the tub. Vanessa grabbed a towel and dried herself off and put her pajamas on. Vanessa then walked into the bedroom and got into bed. Zac sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Vanessa.

"Can I get you anything?" Zac asked.

"No, thank you Zac" Vanessa said.

"Alright, get some sleep. I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

Zac got off the edge of the bed and left the bedroom and walked downstairs. The next day Zac was in his office when the phone rang. Zac picked up his phone.

"Hello?" Zac answered.

"Hi Zac, how are you?" Stella asked.

"Hey, Stella. I'm okay, how are you?" Zac asked.

"I'm doing well. How's Van doing?" Stella asked.

"She's doing okay. She has been having some cramps and is really uncomfortable. But her doctor said that it was normal" Zac said.

"Okay, well I was in the area and Dylan is with me and we wanted to see you guys" Stella said.

"Dylan is with you? Come on over. Van will be happy to see you guys" Zac said.

"Okay, we will be there in ten minutes" Stella said.

"Alright, see you then" Zac said.

Zac and Stella hung up. He walked out of his office and went upstairs. Zac walked into the bedroom and saw Vanessa getting out of bed.

"Stella and Dylan are on their way over here" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she picked out her clothes.

Vanessa got dressed and walked downstairs. The doorbell rang and Vanessa walked to the front door and opened it.

"Hi guys" Vanessa said.

Stella and Dylan hugged Vanessa.

"How are you feeling, Van?" Dylan asked.

"I feel exhausted and my whole body aches" Vanessa said.

"You only have two more months left until the baby comes though" Stella reminded her.

"Yeah, I just want him or her out already. So what's going on?" Vanessa asked.

"We have something to tell you" Dylan said.

Zac's face turned a ghostly white color.

"Dylan, please do not say you got Stella pregnant" Zac said.

Stella and Dylan laughed.

"I didn't. But we have something to tell you so are you going to let me say it or not?" Dylan asked.

"Okay, sorry. Go ahead" Zac said.

"Stella and I are dating" Dylan said.

Vanessa's mouth dropped and then it turned into a smile.

"Wait, that is so cute! I'm so happy for you guys" Vanessa said.

Dylan and Stella smiled.

"Thanks, Van" Dylan said.

"Zaccy, don't be mad" Stella said as she looked at her "big brother".

"I'm just in shock that's all. I love you both and I will support you but it's just shocking" Zac said.

"I know it's shocking Zac, considering that you and Van have been going out for forever but we felt something for each other" Dylan explained as he entwined Stella and his fingers together.

"Zac, I like Dylan a lot. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want my secret getting out" Stella said.

Zac smiled.

"I know. I am happy for you guys, but I swear Dylan if you hurt her you won't hear the end of it" Zac said.

"I know and I don't plan on hurting her" Dylan said.

Dylan walked over to Zac and gave him a hug.

"So do you have any names picked out for the baby yet?" Stella asked changing the subject.

"We have two names picked out. If it's a boy, we are going to name him Jacob and if it's a girl, we are going to name her Allie" Vanessa said.

"Those are so cute" Stella said.

"Are you ready to have the baby Van?" Dylan asked.

"Yes, I want him or her out. I don't want to be fat or hormonal anymore. I just my child in my arms" Vanessa said.

"We have two more months. You are so close" Zac said.

Vanessa put her hand on her bump and smiled.

"Is the baby kicking?" Stella asked.

"Yeah, here put your hand here" Vanessa said as she took Stella's hand and put it on her bump.

Stella felt the baby kick and smiled.

"Oh my god, that's crazy" Stella said.

"Right? I just can't wait until he or she is born" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"So what is the plan after you have the baby?" Dylan asked.

"What plan are you talking about?" Vanessa asked.

"Are you and Zac going to go back to work? Are you going to get married? What is the plan?" Dylan asked.

"Zac is going to go back to work once we know what we are doing and when we start getting used to having a baby in the house. I will be staying home for a little while to take care of him or her" Vanessa said.

"Oh and are you going to get married?" Stella asked.

"We want to get married but we want to take one thing at a time right now. If we get married now, it would just create a lot of stress" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, we want to focus on the baby right now and then we will think about getting married" Zac said.

The two couples talked for a little while longer. An hour later, Stella and Dylan left the house and promised to keep in touch. Zac closed the front door and walked into the living room and sat down next to Vanessa on the couch.

"Our siblings are dating" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac and smiled.

"They are so cute, Zac" Vanessa said.

"I think they are a good couple but they are related to us and we are having a baby" Zac said.

"Yeah, but they may not get married or do anything serious. We will just have to see what happens. Don't stress out about it" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's cheek.

"I'm not. So how are you feeling?" Zac asked.

"Okay, I think I am going to take a nap. The baby is making me really tired" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"Alright, sweetheart. Call me if you need anything" Zac said.

"I will" Vanessa said.

Vanessa got up and walked upstairs. She went upstairs and lied down on the bed. Vanessa fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. A couple hours later, Zac went upstairs and walked into the bedroom and saw Vanessa sleeping. He smiled and walked over to the bed and kissed her head softly. Vanessa opened her eyes slowly.

"How long was I asleep for?" Vanessa asked.

"Only for a couple hours" Zac said as he put a stray hair behind Vanessa's ear.

"The baby has been kicking me all day and I just want it to stop" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"I'm sorry baby girl. I wish I could make it stop. Do you want me to make you some tea?" Zac asked.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she rubbed her bump in soothing circles.

"I will be right back" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

Zac walked downstairs and made Vanessa's tea. He then walked upstairs with the cup and handed it to his girlfriend.

"Thank you honey" Vanessa said.

"No problem" Zac said.

Vanessa took a sip of her tea and put her hand on her bump.

"Has it stopped kicking as much?" Zac asked as he put his hand on Vanessa's stomach.

"A little bit" Vanessa said.

"Well that's good. I can't believe that in two months the baby will be here" Zac said.

"I know, I think he or she will look like you" Vanessa said.

"I hope the baby looks like me but I hope that the baby has your personality" Zac said as he kissed Vanesssa's lips.

Vanessa smiled.

"Yeah, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, are you free?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah I am free. We have grown so much in the last seven months" Zac said.

"I know and I couldn't see my life without you or this baby. Without you, I wouldn't have learned what love really is or what it means to be a family. You are family, Zac. I love you so much" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's cheek.

Zac smiled and entwined their fingers together.

"When you first told me that you were pregnant, I will admit I was scared to death of what our lives would be like in the future. But I have watched you become so maternal in the last couple of months. I know now that this baby is the definition of how much we love and care about each other. I couldn't ever see my life without you or this baby. I love you so much and I can't wait to meet our baby" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled. She leaned over and hugged Zac. Zac wrapped his arms around and kissed lips softly.

"I love you babe" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

The rest of the day Zac and Vanessa relaxed around the house. They couldn't wait to meet their baby that would be arriving in two months.


	13. It All Comes Down To This

Two months later, Vanessa was nine months pregnant. She was so happy that she would finally be able to meet her baby. Zac and Vanessa had been making sure that everything was set up at the hospital and that their security teams knew what they were supposed to do. One morning, Vanessa woke up and saw that Zac was not in bed. She got out of bed carefully and walked downstairs. Vanessa walked into Zac's office and sat down in front of his desk. Zac looked up and smiled.

"Hi honey, how did you sleep?" Zac asked.

"Alright, my body just aches. I want the baby to come already" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and took her hand in his.

"I know you do baby and it will. When the baby wants to come out, it will" Zac said.

"I just want the baby to be here so that I don't have to look like a whale anymore" Vanessa said.

"Babe, you are not a whale. You are nine months pregnant" Zac said.

"I look like one" Vanessa said.

"No you don't. Hey, have you had any more of the Braxton-Hicks contractions?" Zac asked.

Vanessa had been having pre-term contractions and she called Dr. Brown and she told her that they were normal because her body was getting ready to have the baby.

"I have had one or two, but that's it" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"Okay, I can't believe you are due in a week. We made it" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"I know. I want to know the gender and who and what he or she looks like" Vanessa said.

"Me too and we only have a week left until we can meet the baby" Zac said.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

Zac leaned in to kiss Vanessa but she groaned in pain.

"You okay?" Zac asked.

"Stupid contractions" Vanessa said as she rubbed her bump soothingly.

"I'm sorry babe" Zac said as he rubbed her back.

Vanessa leaned in and kissed Zac's lips softly.

"So are your parents going to come down for the birth?" Vanessa asked.

"My mom said she wants to but she wants us to tell her when she should come. She said that you will be in labor for a while and that we should have some alone time when the baby is born" Zac said.

"Okay, what about Dylan?" Vanessa asked.

"Dylan wants to be there. He wants to hang out in the waiting room" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa sighed.

"Are you getting nervous?" Zac asked.

"Yes" Vanessa said.

"Everything will be fine, sweetheart. I will be right next to you, holding your hand" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Come on, let's watch a movie" Zac said as he got up from his desk.

Zac walked over to Vanessa and offered her his hand. Vanessa took her boyfriend's hand and pulled herself up. Zac put his hand on Vanessa's bump and felt the baby kick his hand. The couple entwined their fingers together and walked out of the office and went into the living room. Zac and Vanessa picked out a movie and started watching it until Vanessa felt pain in her lower stomach. Vanessa shrugged it off and continued to watch the movie. Fifteen minutes later, the same pain came back. Vanessa started to get worried and looked at Zac.

"Zac, I don't feel good" Vanessa said.

Zac looked at Vanessa concerned.

"What's wrong Van?" Zac asked.

"My stomach hurts and I think I am having real contractions, not Braxton Hicks ones" Vanessa said.

"I am going to call Dr. Brown and see what we need to do, okay? Just relax, baby" Zac said.

Zac got up and walked over to his phone and dialed Dr. Brown's number. He explained to Dr. Brown what was going on. A few minutes later, Zac walked back to where Vanessa was sitting.

"What did she say?" Vanessa asked.

"She said that we need to wait until your water breaks and then after it breaks, we can go to the hospital" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac rubbed Vanessa's stomach soothingly until she moaned.

"Are you having a contraction?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded. She took deep breaths and squeezed Zac's hand. After it ended, Vanessa looked at Zac.

"You okay?" Zac asked.

"It hurts" Vanessa said.

"I know baby, but think of it this way, the baby is coming" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac.

"I am going to go get a glass of water" Vanessa said.

"Alright honey, take it easy though" Zac said.

Vanessa got off the couch and walked into the kitchen. A few moments later, Zac heard Vanessa yell.

"Zac, hurry!" Vanessa yelled.

Zac ran into the kitchen and saw Vanessa standing in a puddle of water and gripping the kitchen counter. Vanessa's water had finally broke. He took her hand in his.

"Breathe, Van. It's okay. I am going to run upstairs and get your bag" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded. Zac ran upstairs and grabbed Vanessa's hospital bag that had been packed for three months. He then ran downstairs and took Vanessa's hand in his.

"Alright, let's go" Zac said as he helped Vanessa walk to the car.

Zac opened the car door for Vanessa and helped her get in. He then closed the door and walked to the driver's side and got in. Zac looked at Vanessa, who was breathing through a contraction, and then started driving to the hospital.

"He or she is early" Vanessa said.

"I know, but that's okay. How are you feeling?" Zac asked.

"Right now, I am-" Vanessa stopped.

Vanessa started breathing heavily.

"Breathe sweetheart, you are doing great" Zac said as he pulled into the hospital parking lot.

Nurses came to the car and helped Vanessa get out. They then helped Vanessa sit in a wheelchair. Vanessa grabbed Zac's hand.

"Don't leave me, Zac" Vanessa cried.

"I'm not going anywhere, babe. I am right here" Zac said.

The nurses wheeled Vanessa into the hospital and went to the elevator. The couple and the nurses went up to the third floor of the hospital. The couple was then escorted to a hospital room.

"Vanessa, please take everything off and change into this gown. We are paging Dr. Brown so she should be in shortly" the nurse said as she handed Vanessa the gown.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

The nurse left and Vanessa moaned in pain. Zac rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's okay, baby. Just breathe" Zac said.

Vanessa breathed through the contraction and then relaxed.

"That was a strong one" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"Yeah, come on I will help you change" Zac said.

Vanessa changed into hospital gown and Zac helped her lie down on the bed.

"How are you doing?" Vanessa asked.

"You are in labor and asking me how I am doing? Baby, that doesn't matter right now" Zac said.

"Yes it does-" Vanessa stopped and closed her eyes.

Vanessa breathed through the contraction and then relaxed.

"As I was saying, it does matter" Vanessa said.

"I am doing okay, there are you happy now?" Zac asked.

"Yes, when is Dr. Brown going to come?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know baby, but she will be here soon. Just relax" Zac said.

Vanessa took a deep breath in and released it. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brown came into the room.

"Hi guys. How are you doing Vanessa? Are you ready to have this baby?" Dr. Brown asked.

"I'm in pain but it's not that bad. I can't wait to meet the baby" Vanessa said as she looked at her doctor.

Zac smiled.

"I need to check you and see how far along you are, okay? Just take deep breaths and stop me if you are having a contraction" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she spread her legs apart.

Vanessa held Zac's hand tightly and took deep breaths, like Dr. Brown had told her to do. Dr. Brown checked Vanessa and came up and threw her gloves away.

"You are three centimeters dilated" Dr. Brown said.

"How many does she have to be?" Zac asked.

"She has to be ten. I will be back in a little while to check you again" Dr. Brown said.

"Alright" Vanessa said.

Dr. Brown left the hospital room. Vanessa looked at Zac.

"Maybe you should call our parents and Dylan" Vanessa said.

"Okay. I will be right back" Zac said.

Zac got up from the chair that he was sitting in and kissed Vanessa's head and left the room. Fifteen minutes later, Zac came back into the room and saw a bright red faced Vanessa breathing through a contraction. Zac quickly took his seat and held her hand.

"Breathe honey, you are doing great" Zac said.

Once the contraction ended, Vanessa fell back against the bed.

"That was a big one" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"Yeah, was that your only contraction since I have been gone?" Zac asked.

"No, I had two" Vanessa said.

"Really?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, they are getting closer together" Vanessa said.

Vanessa started breathing heavily and had tears running down her face. Zac rubbed her knuckles soothingly and kissed her cheek.

"It hurts" Vanessa cried.

"I know baby, I know. You are doing great though" Zac said.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore" Vanessa said.

"Vanessa, you can do this. I know it's painful, but you are doing so well. You just have two more centimeters to go until you can get the epidural" Zac said.

"It hurts so bad, Zac" Vanessa cried as she moved her body to the side of the bed.

Zac got up and walked closer to Vanessa and put his hand on her head.

"Baby, you are doing amazing. I know it hurts and I know you just want to sleep. We are so close to our baby, Van. You are almost half way there" Zac said.

Vanessa had tears running down her cheeks. Zac quickly wiped them away and kissed her cheek softly.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said softly.

Zac's phone went off and Zac pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Sweetheart, Dylan is here. I am going to go to the waiting room to give him an update okay? I will be back in five minutes" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's cheek softly and walked out of the hospital room and into the waiting room where his brother was waiting. Dylan looked up and smiled when he saw his brother and gave him a hug.

"How is she doing?" Dylan asked.

"She's doing okay. The pain is really getting to her" Zac said.

"Do you know how long it will be until the baby is born?" Dylan asked.

"No, but I do know that Van wants an epidural as soon as possible" Zac said.

"Alright, go back to Vanessa. Tell her good luck and that I love her" Dylan said.

"I will" Zac said as he walked out of the waiting room.

Zac knocked on Vanessa's hospital room door and opened it and walked in.

"Hey, how are you feeling sweetie?" Zac asked.

"In pain and I'm tired" Vanessa said.

Zac moved a piece of sweaty hair out of Vanessa's face.

"I know you are baby. I'm so proud of you though" Zac said.

"Why are you proud of me?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm proud of you because you have had to turn your life upside down in order for us to even let this baby come into the world. Plus, childbirth is supposed to be the hardest and most painful thing that any woman will ever go through and you are doing it. I love you so much" Zac said.

"I love you too and thank you" Vanessa said painfully.

"Breathe, Van. Take nice deep breaths" Zac coached.

Vanessa breathed through the contraction and then relaxed.

"I just want to go to sleep" Vanessa said.

"I know, do you want Dylan to come in? He may help get your mind off the pain" Zac suggested.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"Alright, I will be right back" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's head.

Zac left the hospital room and walked to the waiting room. Dylan smiled when he saw his brother.

"How's it going?" Dylan asked.

"Everything is okay. You can come see her. I'm trying to get her mind off the pain" Zac said.

"Okay" Dylan said as he got up.

The two men walked to Vanessa's hospital room and walked in. Zac and Dylan sat on each side of Vanessa's bed.

"How are you feeling Van?" Dylan asked.

"I'm in a lot of pain" Vanessa said.

"When can you get the epidural?" Dylan asked.

"The doctor said that she can get it once she is five centimeters" Zac said.

"You are doing so well" Dylan said.

Vanessa closed her eyes and bit her lip. She grabbed Dylan's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Breathe baby, it's okay" Zac said as he rubbed her back.

"You are doing great Van, just keep breathing" Dylan said.

Once the contraction ended, tears ran down Vanessa's cheeks.

"Why are you crying Van?" Dylan asked.

"It hurts!" Vanessa yelled.

Dylan looked at Zac, who looked at his brother.

"Baby, everything is okay. Just relax" Zac said.

"No it's not. I am in labor, the most painful thing a person can experience. When you feel what I feel and tell me that everything is okay, I will happily believe you!" Vanessa yelled.

Zac sighed.

"I'm sorry babe. I was only trying to help" Zac said softly.

Vanessa sighed and wiped her tears away.

"I want this baby out now" Vanessa said.

"I am going to page Dr. Brown" Zac said as he pressed the call button.

A few minutes later, Dr. Brown knocked on the door and came in smiling.

"How are you doing Vanessa?" Dr. Brown asked.

"I'm in so much pain" Vanessa said.

"I am going to check you and see where you are at" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa spread her legs apart and Dr. Brown examined her. She then came up and smiled.

"Vanessa, you are at four centimeters" Dr. Brown said.

"Four?! I have been here for a couple of hours and I have only moved one centimeter?!" Vanessa cried.

"Honey, you just need one more until you can get the epidural" Zac said.

"Shut up" Vanessa said.

Zac sighed and looked at Dr. Brown.

"Vanessa, you are doing beautifully. You have one centimeter left until you can get the epidural. I know you are in pain. You just have to let all of the anger and frustration that you have and put it into dealing with the contractions okay? I am going to come check you in an hour and see how everything is going" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Dr. Brown left the room and Zac looked at Dylan.

"Zac, why don't you take a break? I will stay here with Van" Dylan said.

"Are you sure?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, go get something to eat and take a walk. I will be here" Dylan said.

"Okay, thanks Dylan" Zac said.

"No problem" Dylan said.

Zac leaned into the hospital bed and kissed Vanessa's head.

"I will be back, baby. Dylan is here if you need anything" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded and leaned over and kissed Zac's lips.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you" Vanessa whispered.

"Hey, don't worry about okay? Just relax and break Dylan's hand while I am gone" Zac whispered.

Vanessa nodded and snuggled into the hospital bed. Zac got off the bed and shook Dylan's hand.

"Everything is under control. Go take a breather" Dylan said.

"I will be back soon" Zac said.

Zac left the room. Dylan sat in Zac's chair and looked at the clock, which read three o' clock. Vanessa had been in labor for 5 hours. Dylan was excited for his brother and Vanessa to become parents. He knew that they were going to love their child more than anything in the world. Dylan was pulled out his thoughts when he heard Vanessa moan.

"Hey, everything is okay Van. Just breathe" Dylan said as he held her hand.

"It hurts" Vanessa cried.

"I know it does, honey. You have to keep breathing" Dylan said.

Vanessa breathed through the contraction until it ended. She then looked at Dylan.

"Where's Zac?" Vanessa asked.

"He is taking a break. Do you need something, Van?" Dylan asked.

"I want him here" Vanessa said.

"He will be back soon. How are you feeling?" Dylan asked.

"Tired. I want the epidural" Vanessa said.

Before Dylan could answer, Vanessa screamed in pain.

"Breathe, Van. It's okay. Everything is okay" Dylan said.

Vanessa breathed through the contraction and squeezed Dylan's hand. After the contraction ended, Vanessa's body relaxed.

"You okay?" Dylan asked.

"It hurts a lot" Vanessa said.

An hour later, a more awake Zac came into the hospital room. He looked at Vanessa and smiled.

"How are you feeling, baby girl?" Zac asked.

"So much pain" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"I know sweetheart, you will get the epidural soon" Zac said.

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brown came into the room.

"Let's see where you are at, Vanessa" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa spread her legs apart and took a deep breath. Dr. Brown checked Vanessa and came up and smiled.

"Vanessa, you at five centimeters. I will go let the anesthesiologist know and he will be in shortly" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Dr. Brown left the room and Zac kissed Vanessa's cheek.

"You are amazing. You are half way babe. We are so close to seeing our baby" Zac said.

"When I get the epidural, I am going to sleep" Vanessa said tiredly.

"Okay good. You need to keep your strength up" Zac said.

"Zac?" Vanessa called.

"Yeah sweetie?" Zac asked.

"Thank you for going through this pregnancy with me" Vanessa said as tears formed in her eyes.

Zac smiled and he kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"I love you so much and I love this baby. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me Vanessa. I would never let you go through this alone" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled painfully.

"Breathe honey" Zac said.

Vanessa breathed through the contraction and then relaxed. Zac and Vanessa were so close to meeting their baby.


	14. Our Baby Girl

A few minutes later, the anesthesiologist came into the room and instructed Vanessa to sit up and lean against Zac as he inserted the epidural. After the anesthesiologist finished, he helped Vanessa lie back down and told the couple that the epidural would take ten or fifteen minutes to be in effect. The anesthesiologist left the room. Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled.

"Do you feel anything yet, sweetie?" Zac asked.

"Not yet" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her bump.

"In a couple minutes, you will feel something" Zac said as he entwined their fingers together.

Ten minutes later, Vanessa smiled as she felt the effect of the epidural.

"How are you feeling?" Zac asked.

"No pain" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"That's great baby, you should get some sleep" Zac said.

"I think I am going to" Vanessa said as she snuggled into the hospital bed.

"I love you. You are doing awesome, Van" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I love you too" Vanessa said as she closed her eyes.

Vanessa fell asleep and Zac stood up. He leaned over Vanessa and kissed her head softly.

"I am going to go to the waiting room and talk to Dylan. I will be right back" Zac whispered.

Vanessa nodded. Zac left the hospital room and walked into the waiting room and saw a bigger crowd than he did before. He saw that Vanessa's family and Dylan were all sitting and talking about the baby. Dylan looked up and smiled when he saw Zac.

"How's Van doing?" Dylan asked.

"She got the epidural and is sleeping" Zac said.

"How long do you think until the baby is born?" Stella asked.

"I honestly don't know. We have been here for about ten hours" Zac said.

"Your first child is always the longest. When I had Vanessa, I was in labor for twenty four hours" Gina said.

"Wow and Dr. Brown was telling us that the epidural slows everything down so we may be waiting a little longer" Zac said.

"Yeah, you should go back and see how she's doing Zac" Gina said.

"Yeah, I think I am going to. I will see you guys later" Zac said.

Zac walked out of the waiting room and went down the hall to Vanessa's hospital room. He opened the door and walked in and saw Vanessa's eyes open slowly.

"Hey sleepyhead, how are you feeling?" Zac asked softly.

"I'm okay. I don't feel anything. The only thing I feel is pressure when there is a contraction" Vanessa said.

"That's great honey. The waiting room gang sends their love" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"I'm sorry I yelled at your earlier" Vanessa said.

"Van, don't even worry about it. You are in labor and I am the cause of your pain. You are allowed to yell at me" Zac said.

"Yeah, but I didn't mean it" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

A couple minutes later, Vanessa fell asleep again. Zac was reading a magazine when Dr. Brown came into the room.

"Hi Zac, how's she doing?" Dr. Brown asked.

"She's doing great. She just fell asleep" Zac said.

"Good, I unfortunately need to wake her up so I can check her" Dr. Brown said.

"I'll wake her up" Zac said.

Zac got up from his seat and kissed Vanessa's cheek softly and heard Vanessa moan.

"Baby, Dr. Brown needs to check you. You need to wake up for a minute" Zac said.

Vanessa opened her eyes slowly.

"How are you feeling, Vanessa?" Dr. Brown asked.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"I just need to check you and you can go back to sleep" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she spread her legs apart.

Dr. Brown checked Vanessa and smiled.

"You are at six centimeters, four more to go" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa nodded tiredly. Dr. Brown left the room and Zac looked at Vanessa.

"Go back to sleep, honey" Zac said.

"Now I am up and can't go back to sleep" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"More please" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips passionately.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

Zac's phone vibrated and he looked at his phone.

"Honey, your mom wants to come in and see how you are doing. Are you okay with that or do you want to try to fall asleep?" Zac asked.

"I don't want to see anyone. I just want to have the baby" Vanessa said.

"You don't even want to see your mom?" Zac asked as he moved a stray hair out of Vanessa's face.

"No, just send everyone home" Vanessa said.

"Alright" Zac said.

Zac got up and left the hospital room. He walked into the waiting room and everyone looked at him.

"How is she?" Gina asked.

"She's fine. She's really tired. Vanessa said she doesn't want to see anyone right now and she just wants to rest and told me to send you all home" Zac said.

"Okay, but let us know when the baby comes" Gina said.

"I will" Zac said.

Zac left the waiting room and walked back to Vanessa's hospital room. He walked in and smiled when he saw Vanessa sleeping. An hour later, Vanessa woke up and saw Zac on his phone. He looked up and smiled.

"How are you doing honey?" Zac asked.

"Good, I feel pressure but other than that, I feel fine. How long was I asleep for?" Vanessa asked.

"Only for an hour" Zac said.

"Oh okay" Vanessa said.

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brown came into the room.

"How are you feeling, Vanessa?" Dr. Brown asked.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"I need to check you" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa spread her legs apart.

"You are at eight" Dr. Brown said.

"That's great, Van" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"It won't be long. If you start to feel the urge to push, page me" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Dr. Brown left the room. Zac smiled.

"You are amazing honey. You are doing great" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"I couldn't do this without you. Thank you for being here" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"I will always be here, no matter what" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled. Zac put his hand on Vanessa's stomach.

"The baby is still kicking" Zac said.

"I don't feel it" Vanessa said.

"Oh" Zac said.

An hour later, Vanessa was lying on her side. Zac was massaging her stomach gently.

"I feel so much pressure" Vanessa said.

"Do you feel like you need to push babe?" Zac asked.

"I don't know" Vanessa said.

"Let's page Dr. Brown and see what's going on" Zac said as he pressed the call button.

A couple minutes later, Dr. Brown came into the room.

"How's it going Vanessa?" Dr. Brown asked.

"I feel a lot of pressure" Vanessa said.

"Let me check you and see where you are" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa spread her legs apart and Dr. Brown checked her. She came up and smiled.

"You are at nine centimeters, Vanessa. I am going to go get some stuff and I will be back" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa nodded tiredly. Dr. Brown left the room. Zac kissed Vanessa's lips.

"You are doing great sweetie. The baby is almost here" Zac said.

Twenty minutes later, Dr. Brown came back into the room with a couple of nurses. They set up medical equipment around Vanessa's hospital bed and Dr. Brown looked at the couple.

"Are you getting excited?" Dr. Brown asked.

"I just want the baby out" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"The baby will be here soon" Dr. Brown said.

Dr. Brown checked Vanessa and smiled.

"Vanessa, you are fully dilated" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Thank God" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's head softly.

"Now, you need to listen to me carefully okay? On the next contraction, I need you to bear down and push" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"Zac, I need you to hold one of Vanessa's legs to her chest and one of the nurses will hold the other one" Dr. Brown instructed.

"Okay" Zac said as he pulled Vanessa's leg back.

Zac looked at Vanessa and winked at her.

"You okay?" Zac asked.

"I can feel the contractions more than I did before" Vanessa said.

"Vanessa that's normal. Don't worry" the nurse said as she pulled Vanessa's leg back.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

"You never answered my question babe" Zac said.

"I'm scared, but I am excited" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"Me too, but everything will be fine" Zac said.

"Why is it taking so long for a contraction to come?" Vanessa asked.

"The baby is getting ready to come out so the contractions have decreased a little bit. It's normal" Dr. Brown said.

"Alright" Vanessa said.

A couple minutes later, Vanessa felt a weird sensation in her lower body and took a deep breath.

"I think I want to push" Vanessa said.

"Alright, Vanessa. Bear down and push" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa took a deep breath and pushed.

"You are doing great baby" Zac said.

After the contraction ended, Vanessa fell back against the bed.

"Great job, Vanessa. Catch your breath while you wait for another one" Dr. Brown said.

A few seconds later, Vanessa looked at Zac.

"I need to push" Vanessa said.

"Go for it, honey" Zac said.

Vanessa took a deep breath and pushed hard. She had tears running down her face.

"Babe, you are doing amazing" Zac said.

Vanessa fell back against the bed.

"It hurts" Vanessa said.

"I know honey, it's almost over" Zac said.

"You are moving the baby down, Vanessa. I can see a little hair" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa took a deep breath and pushed again until her face turned red. She fell back against the bed and cried.

"I can't do it anymore" Vanessa said.

"Baby, yes you can. You are doing so well" Zac said.

"Vanessa, I can see more of the head. You just need two more pushes and the head will be out" Dr. Brown said.

"Come on honey, just two more pushes" Zac said encouragingly.

Vanessa took a deep breath and pushed. She whined and tears ran down her face.

"Ow" Vanessa said.

"It's okay Van, everything is okay" Zac said.

Vanessa fell back against the bed.

"It hurts" Vanessa said.

"Vanessa, you just need one more push until the head will be out and that is the hardest part" Dr. Brown said.

"One more push, baby" Zac said.

Vanessa took a deep breath and pushed hard and screamed.

"The head is out. Do you want to touch the head, Vanessa?" Dr. Brown asked.

Vanessa nodded as she tried to regain her breath. Dr. Brown took her hand and brushed it against the baby's head.

"I just need one big push and the baby will be out" Dr. Brown said.

Vanessa took a deep breath and pushed as hard as she could. She heard Zac encouraging her as she pushed. Vanessa stopped pushing when she heard a cry fill the room. She fell back against the bed and tried to regain her breath.

"It's a girl! Congrats! Daddy, do you want to cut the cord?" Dr. Brown asked.

"Sure" Zac said as he took the scissors that Dr. Brown handed him.

After the cord was cut, Dr. Brown put the baby onto Vanessa's chest.

"Hi sweetheart, I can't believe you are finally here" Vanessa said as tears ran down her face.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly and looked at his daughter.

"She looks like you, babe" Zac said.

"She has your smile" Vanessa said as she looked at her daughter.

"What's her name?" Dr. Leon asked.

"Allie Efron" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and kissed the newborn's head.

"Hi Allie, I'm your daddy" Zac said.

"Vanessa, we need to clean you up. You can put Allie in Zac's arms" Dr. Brown said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she put her daughter into Zac's arms.

"Hi sweetheart" Zac said as he looked at Allie.

Zac looked at his daughter and couldn't believe that she was here. He looked at Vanessa and smiled. Zac was so proud of Vanessa. She had given him the most perfect daughter in the world. After Vanessa was cleaned up, she looked at Zac and observed how he acted with Allie.

"Hi daddy" Vanessa said.

"Hi mommy" Zac said.

Zac stood up from the chair he was sitting in and went over to Vanessa's hospital bed. He put Allie in Vanessa's arms.

"She's perfect" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"You did great honey. I am so proud of you" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

"Thank you for making me a mommy" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and looked at Allie and then looked at Vanessa.

"Thank you for making me a daddy" Zac said.

"Vanessa, we need to take her to go get checked out. We will bring her right back" the nurse said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she kissed Allie's head.

Vanessa put Allie into the nurse's arms and watched the nurse walk away. Zac put his hand on top of Vanessa's.

"How are you feeling?" Zac asked softly.

Vanessa smiled.

"I feel amazing" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips. A couple minutes later, the nurse came back with Allie, who was now in a pajama outfit with a cap on, and put her in Vanessa's arms.

"You are all clean" Vanessa cooed.

"She's healthy right?" Zac asked Dr. Brown.

"Yes, perfectly healthy. I will see you guys later. Congratulations!" Dr. Brown said as she left the room.

"Okay, thank you" Vanessa said.

Zac looked at Vanessa.

"Do you want me to call our parents?" Zac asked.

"Yes please" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Zac left the room to call his and Vanessa's parents and told them that Vanessa had the baby. A few minutes later, Zac came back into the room and smiled.

"How are my girls doing?" Zac asked.

Vanessa smiled.

"We are doing fine. But, I think someone is a little tired" Vanessa said as she looked at Allie, who was sleeping in Vanessa's arms.

"I will put her in her bassinet" Zac said as he carefully took Allie out of Vanessa's arms.

Zac carried Allie over to her bassinet and carefully lied her down in it.

"There you go Allie" Zac said as he kissed his daughter's forehead.

Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Van? You have had a long day" Zac said.

"I want to stay up a little longer" Vanessa said.

Zac lied down next to Vanessa on the hospital bed.

"We have a daughter" Zac said incredulously.

Vanessa smiled and nodded her head.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

"What did our parents say?" Vanessa asked.

"After our mothers screamed and cried, they congratulated us and said that they would come meet Allie when we got home. They didn't want to overwhelm us right now" Zac said.

"Okay, is she asleep?" Vanessa asked.

Zac looked into the bassinet and smiled.

"She's sound asleep. That's what you should be doing too" Zac said.

"Fine" Vanessa said.

Vanessa snuggled into Zac's chest and fell asleep. The next morning, Vanessa woke up and remembered that Allie was here. She smiled and snuggled into Zac's chest. Vanessa looked over Zac's body and saw Allie sleeping in her bassinet. She smiled. Zac started to stir and opened his eyes slowly.

"Hey mommy" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled. She would never get tired of hearing that.

"Hey daddy" Vanessa said.

Zac looked at Allie's bassinet and smiled.

"She's still sleeping" Zac said.

"Yeah" Vanessa said as she wrapped her arms around Zac's neck.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

Zac leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips. The couple pulled away when they heard a cry.

"She's up" Zac said stating the obvious.

Vanessa smiled. She got out of bed but regretfully stood up.

"Oh my god. I'm so sore" Vanessa groaned.

"Hey, I will get her. Get back in bed" Zac said.

Vanessa carefully got back into bed. Zac got up and walked over to the bassinet and carefully picked Allie up. He then carried the newborn over to the bed and placed her into Vanessa's arms.

"Hi Allie" Vanessa said.

Zac lied back down and looked at his daughter in Vanessa's arms.

"I can't believe she's ours" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac and nodded. There was a knock on the door and the nurse came into the room.

"How are we doing this morning?" the nurse asked.

"Good" Vanessa said.

"Are you going to breastfeed or feed her by a bottle?" the nurse asked.

Vanessa's eyes widened. She and Zac hadn't talked about. Vanessa looked at Zac.

"It's your decision, Van" Zac said.

"Is it healthier to have breast milk than normal milk?" Vanessa asked the nurse.

"Yes, it's much healthier. Eventually you will have to wean her off though" the nurse said.

Vanessa sighed.

"I will breastfeed" Vanessa said.

"Okay, now what you are going to do is hold her like this" the nurse said as she put Allie in the correct position.

"Alright" Vanessa said.

"Now, we are going to pull down your gown a little and have Allie face your breast. She will then latch on" the nurse said.

The nurse pulled Vanessa's gown down, exposing her breast. She then watched Allie latch onto her mother.

"How does it feel?" the nurse asked.

"It feels weird but I like it" Vanessa said as she looked at Allie.

Zac smiled. Vanessa looked down at her daughter and smiled. The nurse left the room.

"How does it feel?" Zac asked.

"It feels weird. She's pulling" Vanessa said.

"Does it hurt?" Zac asked.

"No" Vanessa said.

Allie pulled away and Vanessa looked at her daughter. She lifted Allie in her arms and patted her back until she burped.

"There, you are all better" Vanessa said.

Zac and Vanessa were so happy that Allie was finally here, safe and sound. They couldn't wait to see what life had in store for them.


	15. Together Forever

The next day, Vanessa was going to be discharged from the hospital. She woke up that morning and saw Zac sleeping. Vanessa smiled and kissed his cheek softly. She then turned over and smiled when she saw Allie sleeping soundly. Vanessa got out of bed and walked over to the bassinet and picked Allie up. She looked down at her sleeping daughter and smiled. Vanessa heard movement coming from the hospital bed and looked up and saw Zac stretching his body out.

"Hey, how's she doing today?" Zac asked.

"She's sleeping. I just can't stop looking at her" Vanessa said as she walked over to the bed.

Zac carefully took Allie out of Vanessa's arms so she could get back into bed.

"She looks just like you" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"She has a little bit of you in her too" Vanessa said.

"When are you going to be discharged today?" Zac asked.

"I don't know. I'm kind of scared to leave the hospital" Vanessa said.

"Why baby?" Zac asked.

"I don't know. I don't know if it's the fact that when we leave here we will be on our own with Allie or the fact that we have to face paparazzi" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's cheek.

"Everything is going to be fine. Our parents already told us that they want to help with Allie. I am scared of the paparazzi too, but we need to live our lives" Zac said.

Allie started to cry in her father's arms.

"What's wrong honey?" Zac asked as he kissed his daughter's head.

"She's probably hungry" Vanessa said as she took Allie out of Zac's arms.

Vanessa pulled down her shirt and held Allie in her arms. She watched the newborn eat her morning meal.

"Did you talk to your parents?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, they said that they were going to come down later today" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she looked down at Allie, who had pulled away from her breast.

Vanessa patted Allie's back until she burped.

"You are all better. I am going to give you to daddy so I can change" Vanessa said as she put Allie into Zac's arms.

"Hi baby" Zac said to the newborn.

Vanessa got off the bed and walked over to her hospital bag and took out an outfit. She then walked to the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Vanessa emerged from the bathroom.

"Do you feel better?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, how is she doing?" Vanessa asked as she looked at her daughter.

"She just fell asleep" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she lied down on the bed.

A nurse came into the room and smiled.

"How is she doing today?" the nurse asked.

"She is doing great" Vanessa said.

"I need you to sign these discharge papers and then you can leave" the nurse said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa signed the papers and gave them to the nurse.

"You are all set. Congratulations!" the nurse said.

"Thank you" Zac and Vanessa said simultaneously.

Vanessa got off the bed and then went over to Zac's side.

"I will take her" Vanessa said.

Zac carefully put Allie into Vanessa's arms and got off the bed. Vanessa then put Allie into her car seat and buckled her in.

"Are you ready?" Zac asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

"I will take her car seat. You walk in back of me" Zac instructed.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

The couple walked out of the hospital room and took the elevator downstairs. They got out of the elevator and saw the hoards of paparazzi waiting outside the hospital.

"What are we going to do?" Vanessa asked nervously.

"Walk in back of me. I got her" Zac said as he put the cover of Allie's car seat over her.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac and Vanessa walked out of the hospital. Paparazzi got into their faces and tried to take pictures of Allie. The couple made it to the car and they opened the back seat and buckled Allie's car seat into it. Vanessa walked to the front seat and got in. Zac made sure Vanessa got into the car and looked at the paparazzi.

"Leave my family alone. Don't bother us when we have the baby" Zac said.

"Sorry Zac, we are just doing our job" a photographer said.

Zac got into the car and looked at Vanessa.

"Are you okay?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, let's just get out here" Vanessa said.

Zac turned around and looked at the backseat. He saw Allie sleeping soundly. Zac turned on his car and drove away from the hospital and went home. Zac pulled into the driveway and closed the gate to the backyard. The couple got out of the car and went to the backseat. Zac took Allie's car seat out of the car and walked into the house. He set the car seat on the dining room table. Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's waist.

"We are officially a family" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too babe" Vanessa said.

"Should we bring her upstairs and put her in her crib for a little while or leave her down here?" Zac asked.

"I think we should bring her upstairs" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Vanessa lifted Allie out of her car seat and heard her whimper softly.

"It's okay baby, don't cry" Vanessa said.

The couple walked upstairs and went into the Allie's bedroom. Vanessa lied the newborn down in her crib.

"Turn on the baby monitor" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Vanessa and Zac kissed Allie's head softly and walked downstairs.

"I'm so tired" Vanessa said leaning into Zac's embrace.

"You just had a baby, I think that is normal" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Are you going to call your parents and find out when they are coming?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah" Zac said.

Vanessa kissed Zac's lips softly. Zac pulled his phone out and dialed his mother's number.

"Hello?" Starla answered.

"Hi mom" Zac said.

"Hi daddy, how are you doing? How's the baby?" Starla asked her son.

"I'm doing well. We just got home from the hospital. The baby is good. She is upstairs sleeping. When did you guys want to come over and meet her?" Zac asked.

"Did you say her, Zachary? You have a daughter?" Starla asked.

Zac smiled.

"Yes, mom. We have a daughter" Zac said happily.

"I can't wait to meet her. We will be over in an hour" Starla said.

"Okay. Sounds good" Zac said.

Zac hung up the phone and smiled.

"They are going to come in an hour" Zac said.

"Alright, I think I am going to take a nap. I'm exhausted" Vanessa said.

"Okay honey" Zac said.

Vanessa walked upstairs and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Zac heard Allie cry on the baby monitor. He walked upstairs quickly and went into Allie's room and picked her up.

"What's wrong baby girl?" Zac asked the newborn.

Allie kept crying. Zac walked around the room with Allie in his arms. Her cries turned into whimpers and eventually stopped. Zac looked at Allie and saw that she had fallen asleep. He carefully put her into her crib. Zac kissed Allie's head.

"I love you Allie" Zac said softly.

Zac walked out of Allie's room and went into the master bedroom. He saw Vanessa sitting up in bed.

"Is she okay?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, she's fine. I picked her up and carried her around the room and she stopped crying" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac lied down on the bed and entwined his and Vanessa's fingers.

"We need to set a schedule for her" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, that would be good. We need to know when she needs to be fed and all of that" Zac said.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

An hour later, the doorbell rang. Vanessa heard Allie cry and got off the bed.

"Go get the door and I will get her" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Zac walked downstairs and went to the front door. He opened the door and smiled when he saw his family.

"Hi honey" Starla said as she hugged her eldest son.

"Hi mom" Zac said.

"So where is our beautiful granddaughter?" Starla asked.

"Right here" Vanessa answered.

Zac turned around and smiled when he saw Vanessa holding Allie.

"Oh Vanessa, she's beautiful" Starla said.

Zac and Vanessa smiled.

"What's her name?" David, Zac's father asked.

"Her name is Allie" Zac said.

"Do you want to hold her, Starla?" Vanessa asked.

Starla nodded. Vanessa carefully put Allie into Starla's arms. Starla looked down and smiled.

"She's perfect" Starla said.

"She's an Efron?" David asked.

"Yes, and she always will be" Vanessa said as she wrapped her arms around Zac's waist.

Zac smiled. He watched how his mother interacted with Allie.

"How was labor?" Starla asked.

"It was alright. I think I broke Zac's hand" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"She was a trooper" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Have your parents met her yet, Vanessa?" Starla asked.

"Not yet. They came to the hospital when I went into labor but I sent them home because I didn't know how long it was going to be until I had her" Vanessa said.

"Oh, you set up everything with Rob right?" Starla asked.

"Yeah, I did. Security helped us walk out to the car when we walked out of the hospital" Zac said.

Allie started to cry. Starla put Allie into Zac's arms.

"It's okay baby, daddy's here" Zac said as he held Allie in his arms.

"He loves her so much" Starla said.

Zac looked up and smiled.

"When Vanessa first told me she was pregnant I didn't know what fatherhood was going to be like. I didn't know what kind of father I would be or anything, but when I saw Allie's face was for the first time, it was like I knew what I wanted in my life. I wanted Vanessa and my daughter in my life forever. There is nothing that could substitute them. They are my family and I couldn't see my life without them" Zac said.

Vanessa had tears running down her face. She walked over to Zac and kissed his lips passionately.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"I love you too babe, more than you will ever know" Zac said.

Allie made a sound and Zac looked down and smiled.

"I love you too Allie. I could never forget about you" Zac said as he kissed her head softly.

"I am so proud of both of you. You guys had to sacrifice your careers and relationship to have this baby that is here right now. I love you both so much" Starla said as she kissed Zac and Vanessa's cheek.

"Thanks mom" Zac said.

"Thank you Starla" Vanessa said.

The Efron's talked a little longer and left the house. Zac looked down at Allie and smiled when he saw that she was sleeping. He stood up carefully and walked upstairs to her room and placed her into her crib.

"I love you so much, Allie" Zac said.

Zac kissed her head softly and walked out of the room. He walked downstairs and went into the kitchen.

"Is she asleep?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, she will be out for a while" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

"You are a really great dad, Zac. I want you to know that. What you told your mother, made me fall in love with you all over again" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"You are a really great mom Van. What I told her was the truth. I couldn't see my life without you or Allie" Zac said.

Vanessa leaned in and kissed Zac's lips softly. Zac pulled back and put his hand on Vanessa's cheek.

"Come on, let's get some sleep before she wakes up" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded. The couple walked upstairs and got into bed. A couple hours later, a cry filled the house. Vanessa woke up and got out of bed. She walked down the hall to Allie's room. Vanessa walked over to Allie's crib and picked her up.

"Hi honey, are you hungry?" Vanessa asked.

Vanessa sat in a chair that was in the corner of the room. She pulled her shirt down and brought Allie to her breast. Vanessa watched Allie eat her meal. She heard footsteps coming closer to the room and knew Zac was awake. Zac came into the room and leaned against the door frame.

"Is she okay?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, she is just hungry" Vanessa said as she looked at the infant.

A few minutes later, Allie pulled away from Vanessa.

"You are all done" Vanessa said.

Vanessa patted Allie's back until she burped. She then got up and walked over to Allie's crib and placed in her in it. Vanessa kissed Allie's head.

"I love you baby" Vanessa said.

Vanessa walked over to Zac and kissed his lips.

"Let's go back to bed" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac and Vanessa walked back to their bedroom and got into bed. They fell asleep in each other's arms. That morning, Vanessa woke up to the sun shining through the window. She snuggled into Zac's embrace. Vanessa got out of bed and walked out of the room. She walked into Allie's room and saw that she was wide awake.

"Good morning, Allie" Vanessa said as she picked her daughter up.

Vanessa brought Allie to the changing table and changed her diaper. Allie started to cry.

"I know sweetie, it's okay" Vanessa said as she finished changing her diaper.

Vanessa picked Allie up and walked out of the room.

"Let's go see what daddy is doing" Vanessa said.

Vanessa walked into the master bedroom and saw Zac open his eyes. He smiled.

"Hi Allie" Zac said.

"Go see daddy Allie" Vanessa cooed.

Zac opened his arms and Vanessa placed Allie into them. He kissed her head softly.

"Hi sweetie, did you change her diaper?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, I did" Vanessa said.

The phone rang and Allie started crying. Zac rubbed her back gently.

"It's okay honey" Zac said.

Vanessa picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Vanessa answered.

"Hi Van, how's it going?" Gina asked.

"Hi mom, everything's okay. Allie just woke up" Vanessa said.

"We wanted to stop by and meet her. When is a good time?" Gina asked.

"How about this afternoon?" Vanessa asked.

"Okay, sounds good. See you then, love you" Gina said.

"Okay, love you too" Vanessa said.

Vanessa hung up the phone.

"What did your mom say?" Zac asked.

"My family wants to meet Allie. They are coming over this afternoon" Vanessa said,

"Okay" Zac said.

A couple hours later, the doorbell rang. Zac ran to the door and opened it. He smiled when he saw Vanessa's family.

"Hi Zac, congratulations!" Gina said.

"Thank you Gina" Zac said.

Vanessa's family walked into the house. Vanessa came into the room with Allie.

"Zac, can you hold her? She's getting fussy" Vanessa said.

"Yeah" Zac said.

Zac took Allie out of Vanessa's arms.

"She's beautiful, honey" Gina said.

"Thank you" Vanessa said.

"How was the paparazzi when you left the hospital?" Gina asked.

"They were lined up and waiting for us to leave. It was crazy" Vanessa said.

"Gina, would you like to hold your granddaughter?" Zac asked.

"Of course" Gina said.

Zac put Allie into Gina's arms carefully.

"She's beautiful. I'm so proud of you guys" Gina said.

"Thank you" Vanessa said.

Zac put his arm around Vanessa and kissed her head. The couple and the Hudgens' family talked for a little while. Zac and Vanessa were so happy that Allie was home, safe and sound.


	16. Learning The Ropes

That night, Vanessa and Zac were sitting in the living room. Allie was lying on Vanessa's chest.

"I think she's a little tired" Zac said as he looked at his sleeping daughter.

"Yeah, I think I am going to put her to bed" Vanessa said as she stood up with Allie in her arms.

"Do you need some help?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, thanks" Vanessa said.

The couple walked upstairs and walked into Allie's room.

"We need to change her diaper" Vanessa said.

"Okay, are you going to teach me how to change her?" Zac asked.

Vanessa smiled.

"You don't know how to change a diaper? How did I not know this?" Vanessa asked.

Zac turned dark red.

"No, I don't" Zac said.

"It's okay baby, I am just teasing you. Can you bring me a diaper from the cabinet?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah" Zac said.

Zac walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a diaper. He then handed it to Vanessa.

"Now, we need to first take her diaper off and throw it out" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Zac took Allie's diaper off and threw it in the trash can.

"Now, you need to lift her body a little bit and wipe her and put the diaper under her" Vanessa said.

Zac carefully lifted Allie's body and wiped and slid the diaper under her.

"Then you connect both sides of the diaper together and you are done" Vanessa said.

Zac connected the sides of the diaper and released the breath he had been holding in.

"Did daddy make you feel better Allie?" Vanessa cooed.

Zac lifted Allie into his arms and kissed her head. He then walked over to Allie's crib and placed her in it.

"Good night baby, I love you" Vanessa said.

Vanessa kissed Allie's head softly and Zac did the same.

"Goodnight sweetheart, I love you" Zac said.

Zac and Vanessa left their daughter's room. Zac put his arm around Vanessa and kissed her head as they walked to their bedroom.

"We made a really good kid" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Yeah, she's perfect" Vanessa said as she walked into the bedroom.

Vanessa walked into the closet and picked out her pajamas. She took off her shirt and looked in the mirror.

"I look horrible" Vanessa said.

"No you don't baby. You look beautiful" Zac said.

"I'm fat" Vanessa said.

"Van, you just had a baby" Zac said as he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

Vanessa sighed. Zac kissed Vanessa's shoulder and then her neck.

"I am not sexy anymore" Vanessa said.

"Baby, you are the sexist woman I know. Don't even say that. I think you look even more sexy since Allie was born" Zac said.

"Really?" Vanessa asked as she looked at her boyfriend.

"Really, Van. You are gorgeous" Zac said.

Vanessa leaned in and kissed Zac's lips softly.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

The couple heard Allie cry and walked out of the room quickly. Vanessa turned on the light and went over to Allie's crib.

"What's wrong sweetie? Are you hungry?" Vanessa asked.

Vanessa lifted Allie out of her crib and carried her to the chair that was in the room. She sat down with Allie in her arms. Vanessa pulled her shirt down and brought Allie to her breast and watched her eat her evening meal.

"That is what I think is sexy" Zac said.

Vanessa looked up and blushed.

"You think our daughter sucking on my breast is sexy?" Vanessa asked.

"Not exactly. But what I think, is that you are a wonderful mother to Allie and that's sexy to me" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"You love her to death and that makes me love you even more than I already do babe" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

Zac leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips softly. The couple pulled away when they heard Allie yawn.

"Is my baby tired? Let's get you into bed, honey" Zac said as he lifted Allie out of Vanessa's arms.

Zac carried Allie to her crib and put her down in it.

"Good night, Allie. I love you" Zac said as he kissed the infant's forehead.

Vanessa smiled and walked over to her daughter's crib.

"Good night baby. I love you" Vanessa said as she kissed Allie's head.

Zac wrapped his arm around Vanessa and the couple walked out of the bedroom. They walked down the hall and went into their bedroom. Vanessa got into bed and looked at Zac. Zac took off his shirt and got into bed.

"You are the love of my life and the mother of my child, there is nothing sexier than that" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips softly.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too, get some sleep. She will be up in a couple hours" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded and closed her eyes. Zac turned off the light and fell asleep. At three in the morning, a cry filled the house. Vanessa woke up and got out of bed. She walked out of the master bedroom and went down the hall. Vanessa walked into Allie's room and went over to her crib.

"Hi honey, what's wrong? I know you don't need to be changed because daddy and I changed you a little while ago" Vanessa said.

Vanessa lifted Allie out of her crib and walked over to the chair that was in the room and sat down.

"Allie, I am going to tell you a bedtime story that you probably won't remember later on in your life, but I am going to tell you anyway. Your daddy is very important to me. I love him so much. When I first met him, I instantly fell in love with him and knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. When we found out that we were going to have a baby, it was a shock to us. But your dad always told me that everything was going to be okay. He loves you so much" Vanessa said.

"That was the best bedtime story I ever heard" Zac said.

Vanessa looked up and her eyes widened.

"You weren't supposed to hear any of that" Vanessa said.

"I know, but I am glad I did. I love you guys too, more than you will ever know. Is she okay?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, I think she just wanted to be held" Vanessa said as she looked at Allie.

"Oh" Zac said.

Zac looked at the sleeping infant in Vanessa's arms.

"She's asleep" Zac said.

"Can you put her in her crib?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah" Zac said as he took Allie out of Vanessa's arms.

Zac carried Allie to her crib and placed her in it. He then looked at Vanessa.

"Come on, let's go back to bed" Zac said.

Zac and Vanessa entwined their fingers together and walked back to their bedroom. They got back into bed and fell asleep. Later that morning, Zac woke up and saw Vanessa sleeping. He kissed her head softly and got out of bed. Zac walked out of the room and went to Allie's room and saw her eyes opening.

"Hi sweetie, let's change you" Zac said as he picked her up.

Zac brought Allie to the changing table and changed her diaper. He then picked out an outfit and changed his daughter's clothes. Zac picked Allie up and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

"We are going to let your mommy sleep today, Allie" Zac said.

Zac put Allie in her high chair and walked over to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of milk that Vanessa had made earlier. He brought the bottle to Allie's high chair. Zac then picked Allie up and held her as he put the bottle into her mouth. He watched Allie drink the milk and smiled.

"I love you baby girl" Zac said.

After Allie had finished, she pulled away from the bottle. Zac patted her back gently until she burped.

"There, you are all better" Zac said as he stood up with Allie in his arms.

Zac looked down and saw Allie's eyes start to close. He walked upstairs and went into Allie's room and put her in her crib. Zac kissed Allie's forehead softly and left the room. He walked into the master bedroom and saw Vanessa open her eyes.

"Good morning" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Good morning, I have to get Allie up" Vanessa said.

"Already done. I changed her diaper and fed her. She will be fine for a little while" Zac said.

"Where is she?" Vanessa asked.

"In her crib. I just put her down. Don't worry Van" Zac said.

"Thank you" Vanessa said.

"You are welcome. You needed a break" Zac said.

The phone started to ring and Zac picked it up.

"Hello?" Zac answered.

"Hi honey, how are you? How's Allie?" Gina asked.

"Hi Gina, I'm alright. We have been up all night with Allie" Zac said.

"She's not sleeping through the night?" Gina asked.

"No she's not. She sleeps most of the day" Zac said.

"Oh. Well I wanted to tell you that I am going to take Allie off your hands tonight. You and Vanessa need some time to go out and be with each other" Gina said.

"Gina, that's really sweet but we would love to stay home and be with her" Zac said.

"I'm not taking no as an answer Zachary. I will be there at six" Gina said.

"Alright, thank you" Zac said.

Zac hung up the phone and looked at Vanessa.

"What did my mother say?" Vanessa asked.

"She said that she wants us to go out tonight and let her take care of Allie" Zac said.

"I don't want to go" Vanessa said.

"She's making us" Zac said.

Vanessa sighed.

"We can only be out for a little while" Vanessa said.

"I agree" Zac said.

"I am going to go check on Allie" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Vanessa walked down the hall to Allie's room. She smiled when she saw Allie's eyes open.

"Hi Allie, let's go see daddy" Vanessa said.

Vanessa lifted Allie into her arms. She kissed her head and walked out of the room. Vanessa walked downstairs and went into the kitchen and saw smiled when she saw Zac.

"Hey, there's my baby" Zac said as he kissed Allie's head softly.

"She was wide awake" Vanessa said.

"Your mom is going to love that. She won't be able to sleep tonight" Zac said.

"Yeah, I am going to go pump some bottles of milk for later" Vanessa said as she picked up the breast pump from the kitchen cabinet.

"Okay baby" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

Allie made a noise and the couple pulled apart.

"Aw baby, mommy could never forget about you" Vanessa said as she kissed Allie's head.

"Here, give her to me" Zac said as he reached out his hands.

Vanessa put Allie into her boyfriend's arms. She then walked upstairs and went into the master bedroom. Vanessa was really self-conscious about breastfeeding and pumping in front of Zac. She put the pump on and watched the bottles fill up with milk. Zac walked into the room and Vanessa gasped.

"Babe!" Vanessa said.

"What?" Zac asked.

"Can you go downstairs please?" Vanessa asked.

"You don't want me to see you pump do you?" Zac asked as he leaned against the door frame.

Vanessa sighed and turned dark red.

"I just don't feel like myself right now, Zac. I'm twenty five years old and I am breastfeeding and pumping milk out of my breasts" Vanessa said as she put her hands on her face.

Zac walked into the room and sat on the bed next to Vanessa. '

"Vanessa, look at me" Zac said.

Vanessa slowly looked at Zac.

"Honey, maybe we should have a little talk tonight when your mom takes Allie" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded.

"Alright" Vanessa said.

"I'm going to go check on Allie" Zac said as he left the room.

Vanessa sighed and rubbed her face once Zac left. She felt horrible that she snapped at him. A couple hours later, Vanessa and Zac were waiting for Vanessa's mother to arrive so that she could take Allie. The doorbell rang and Zac walked to the front door and opened it.

"Hi Zac, where's Allie?" Gina asked.

"She's right here. I put instructions and her schedule in her bag so she won't cause you any trouble" Vanessa said as she put Allie into her mother's arms.

"Alright, I will bring her back tomorrow" Gina said.

"Okay, call me if you need anything" Vanessa said.

Gina left the house with Allie. Vanessa closed the door and looked at Zac.

"Let's talk okay?" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

The couple walked to the living room and sat down.

"Van, I know that having Allie has been hard and I know it's been especially hard on you. Tell me what's on your mind" Zac said.

"I'm just young, Zac. We both are so young. I am pumping milk from my breasts when I am twenty five years old. I knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but I also didn't think it would be this hard" Vanessa said as tears ran down her face.

"I understand Van. I know that everything has changed really fast. But, life is all about experiences. Allie is an experience that I don't want to take for granted or have any resentment for" Zac said.

"It's just been really hard on me" Vanessa said as she broke down.

Zac wrapped his arms around Vanessa as she cried.

"Baby, it's okay. Don't cry" Zac said.

"I don't wish Allie was never here. I love her to death because she is my daughter. I just wished we waited a little bit" Vanessa said.

"I know. But she is here now and we can't do anything about it" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too sweetheart. Do you have anything else that you need to tell me or want to talk about?" Zac asked.

"No, but thank you for letting me vent to you. I know that this has been hard on you too" Vanessa said.

"It's been hard but we are getting through it. We are pretty good parents if you ask me" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Yeah, we are" Vanessa said.

Zac leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips and then her nose. Vanessa smiled and giggled.

"Hey, there's my favorite smile" Zac said.

"So what do you have planned Mr. Efron?" Vanessa asked.

"Well, I could think of a lot of things we could do" Zac said as he raised his eyebrow.

"Babe, I am not back to normal yet" Vanessa said.

"I know you aren't, but that doesn't matter to me. I love you just the way you are Van" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"I don't feel myself. I just want to wait a little while before we have sex okay? I'm sorry" Vanessa said as she curled into a ball.

"Baby, look at me" Zac said softly.

Vanessa looked at her boyfriend.

"We don't have to have sex every time we get some alone time. I know that you have been self-conscious about your body. I'm not going to push you. We can do what we used to do, before we started having sex" Zac said.

"Our relationship isn't the same as it was" Vanessa said.

"I know it's not. We have a daughter, Van. A lot of things have changed" Zac said softly.

Vanessa looked down and then looked up at Zac.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

"Hey, look at me baby" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac.

"Nothing has changed between us okay? My love that I have for you isn't going to change" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded.

"Come on, let's go out to dinner and come back and watch movies" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips passionately.

"I love you" Zac said.

"I love you too" Vanessa said.

Vanessa and Zac left the house. They were bombarded by paparazzi asking about Allie. When they finally got into the car, Zac looked at Vanessa.

"At least the paparazzi has gotten a little better" Zac said.

"Yeah, I wonder how Allie is doing" Vanessa said as Zac started driving.

"I'm sure she's fine, Van. Your mom can handle it" Zac said.

Zac drove to Vanessa's favorite restaurant and parked his car. The couple got out of the car and walked into the restaurant and were seated.

"So, this is our first time alone since Allie" Zac said.

"Yeah, it's weird" Vanessa said.

"Are you okay?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Vanessa said.

Zac ignored the fact that Vanessa was acting different. Vanessa looked at Zac and smiled.

"Sorry I'm being a pain" Vanessa said.

"Babe, you aren't" Zac said.

"Yes, I am. All I have done today is just been upset or mad" Vanessa said.

"Baby, it's fine. You just had a baby Vanessa. Your hormones are trying to go back to normal, I understand" Zac said.

The couple ordered their food and looked at each other.

"So, back to Allie, what do you think of fatherhood so far?" Vanessa asked.

Zac smiled.

"I love it. I love seeing her little face every morning. She makes me so happy. Yeah, it's been hard to adjust to, but at the end of the day, all I want to do is kiss her cheeks and snuggle with her" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"You are a really good dad, Zac" Vanessa said.

"Well, you are a really good mom, Van. I'm serious. You always know what Allie wants and needs" Zac said as he entwined their fingers together.

"I love her so much" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled.

"So here is a question that I think we need to discuss for the safety of Allie. Do we want to have her in the public eye?" Zac asked.

"I think that we should just live our lives. We can't avoid doing things just because the paparazzi is following us. If they put us and Allie in danger, then we need to talk about what we need to do" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Zac and Vanessa finished eating and drove home. Zac and Vanessa were so happy that they were officially a family.


	17. Our World Is Spinning

The next morning, Vanessa woke up and smiled when she saw Zac sleeping. She kissed his cheek softly and saw his eyes open. Zac turned over and looked at Vanessa.

"Good morning" Zac said.

"Good morning, when are we going to pick Allie up today?" Vanessa asked.

"When we get up" Zac said.

Vanessa leaned in and kissed Zac's lips. Zac put his hand on Vanessa's cheek and kissed her lips passionately. Vanessa pulled away and smiled.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too, your mom was right. We needed this time to be with each other" Zac said.

"Yeah, we did" Vanessa said.

Zac sat up in bed and looked down at Vanessa.

"Babe, what do you think about getting married?" Zac asked.

"Like right now? Zac, you know that I want to marry you. But we just had a baby. We need to figure out how to be parents first, before we add marriage to the mix. I love you and I want to get married, I just think we need to hold off on getting married and focus on Allie right now" Vanessa said.

"I agree with you. I just wanted to know if you wanted to marry me. I love you too" Zac said.

Zac sighed. Vanessa kissed Zac's cheek.

"When we get the hang of taking care of Allie, then we can talk about getting married okay?" Vanessa said.

Zac nodded.

"Don't get upset baby. I still love you" Vanessa said.

"I'm not. I love you too" Zac said.

Zac leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"Are you sure you aren't upset?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, Van. I promise. I'm not" Zac said.

"Okay. Let's go get Allie and just hang out" Vanessa said.

"Alright" Zac said.

The couple got out of bed and got dressed. They then walked downstairs and Zac picked up his keys. The couple left the house and started driving to the Hudgens' home. Zac pulled into the driveway and parked his car. Vanessa and Zac got out of the car and walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. Stella opened the door with Allie in her arms.

"Hi sweetheart, did you have fun with grandma and Aunt Stella?" Vanessa asked as she took Allie out of Stella's arms.

"She was an angel. She didn't cry during the night or anything" Gina said as she came into the room.

"That's great" Zac said.

"How was your night?" Gina asked.

"It was good. We went out to dinner and came home and watched movies" Vanessa said.

"Good, you both needed that" Gina said.

"Thank you for taking care of her, mom" Vanessa said.

"It was no problem" Gina said.

Vanessa, Zac, and Allie left the house. Vanessa buckled Allie into her car seat and closed the door. She then opened the passenger seat door and got in. Zac looked at Vanessa and started driving. He drove home and parked his car. Zac got out of the car and opened the backseat door. He lifted Allie out of her car seat and kissed her head.

"Hi baby" Zac said.

The couple walked to the front door and Vanessa unlocked the door. They walked in and walked into the living room. Zac sat down with Allie in his arms.

"Did you have fun with grandpa and grandma, Allie?" Zac asked.

Allie made a noise and Zac smiled.

"I will take that as a yes. Come on sweetie, let's go get you a bottle" Zac said as he stood up.

Zac walked to the kitchen with Allie in his arms. He opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of milk. Zac then put the bottle into Allie's mouth and watched her drink it.

"I love you Allie" Zac said.

After Allie finished, Zac put the bottle on the counter and patted Allie's back gently until she burped.

"All better, let's go put you down in your crib" Zac said as he walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs.

Zac walked into Allie's room and put her on her changing table. He checked to see if she needed to be changed, which she didn't, then carried her over to her crib and carefully put her into it.

"Go to sleep baby, I love you" Zac said as he kissed Allie's head.

Zac walked out of the room and walked into the master bedroom.

"Is she asleep?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, she just went down" Zac said.

"Zac, I want to apologize to you about earlier. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I didn't mean to. I just want to deal with one thing at a time. There is just a lot of things going on right now. We just had Allie and are adjusting to her schedule" Vanessa said.

"Vanessa, I accept your apology. I just felt a little hurt because we did talk about getting married and you agreed that you wanted to. I understand that you want to deal with one thing at a time. Our first priority is Allie" Zac said.

Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's neck.

"Still love me?" Vanessa asked.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's lips passionately. Vanessa pulled back and smiled.

"Is that a good enough answer for you?" Zac asked.

"I love you Zac, never question that" Vanessa said.

"I love you too, Van" Zac said.

"When are you going to go back to work?" Vanessa asked.

"I am going to go back once we know what we are doing with Allie. I don't want to leave you here by yourself until we know how to take care of Allie" Zac said.

The couple heard a cry coming from Allie's room.

"I will go get her" Vanessa said.

"Alright" Zac said.

Vanessa walked out of the room and went into Allie's room and saw her wide awake.

"Hi baby, let me check your diaper" Vanessa said as she picked Allie up.

Vanessa carried Allie to the changing table and laid her down. She opened Allie's diaper and smiled.

"You are all dry. Good job, baby girl. Come on let's go see daddy" Vanessa said as she put Allie's clothes back on.

Vanessa picked Allie up and walked out of the room. She walked into the master bedroom. Zac smiled when he saw Allie.

"Hi sweetheart" Zac said as he took Allie out of Vanessa's arms.

"She didn't need to be changed" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

"But back to what you were saying, I agree that you should go back once we both can take care of her. I have my parents but when I am just learning how to do things and figure out what Allie wants I need you here" Vanessa said.

"You could even come with me. It wouldn't be a problem" Zac said.

"But we would go from place to place though, babe. She needs stability. If we just stay here, it will be better for her" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

"So we have a plan?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, I agree with it. Plus I am going to hate leaving you and her. It's going to be hard" Zac said as he looked at Allie.

"It's going to be hard for you to leave but you need to do what you need to do. Once she gets older, I will start working on movies and hopefully another album. We will make it work" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, I can ask my parents to come down a couple of times too so you don't have to keep going to your parents house and dropping her off or anything like that. They would love to see her" Zac said.

"Okay, so then its settled" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, our first real decision regarding Allie. That's crazy" Zac said.

"Yeah, but it feels normal" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's cheek. He looked down and smiled.

"She's asleep" Zac said.

Vanessa looked down and smiled.

"She looks so peaceful when she sleeps" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, come on let's put her to bed. You need to get some sleep too" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded. Zac took Allie out of Vanessa's arms and the couple walked out of the room and into Allie's room. Zac put Allie into her crib and kissed her head.

"Good night sweetie, I love you" Zac said.

Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac.

"Good night baby, I love you" Vanessa said as she kissed Allie's head.

The couple turned off the light and walked out of the room and into their bedroom. Vanessa changed into her pajamas and got into bed.

"I'm exhausted" Vanessa said.

Zac took his shirt off and got into bed and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"Good night, sweetheart" Zac said.

"Good night" Vanessa said.

Zac and Vanessa fell asleep in each other's arms. They were happy that they were being honest with each other. A couple weeks later, Vanessa and Zac had made a schedule for Allie and were doing very well. One morning, Zac came downstairs after putting Allie down for her nap. He snaked his arms around Vanessa and kissed her shoulder.

"Is she asleep?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, Dylan wanted to come see her today. Is that okay?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, that's fine. Good thing she is taking her nap before he comes so she won't be fussy" Vanessa said.

"Should I wake her up in an hour?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, she's not going to be able to sleep tonight, if she sleeps all day" Vanessa said.

The doorbell rang and Vanessa heard Allie cry. She ran upstairs, while Zac got the door. He opened the door and smiled.

"Hey, daddy. How's it going?" Dylan asked as he hugged his brother.

"Everything's going okay. Van just ran upstairs because Allie started crying" Zac said.

"How is she doing?" Dylan asked.

"Vanessa?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, how is everything going with the two of you and Allie?" Dylan asked.

"Everything is fine. We finally got Allie on a schedule so we aren't running around anymore" Zac said.

Vanessa came downstairs with Allie. Dylan smiled.

"She's grown since I saw her" Dylan said as Vanessa put her daughter into Dylan's arms.

"Yeah, she's growing every day. How are you Dylan?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm doing well. I'm working a lot more, which is always good" Dylan said.

"How's Stella?" Vanessa asked.

Dylan blushed. Vanessa laughed.

"Aw, you love my sister" Vanessa said.

"Hey, I can't help it. She's perfect" Dylan said.

"You never answered my question, Dyl" Vanessa said.

"She's fine. Everything is fine. She wants to come see Allie at some point this week" Dylan said as he looked down at his niece.

"How's motherhood Van?" Dylan asked.

"It's fine. Allie is just a lot of work. But I love her to death" Vanessa said.

"That's good. Has mom met her yet?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah, she met her" Zac said.

"When are you guys getting married?" Dylan asked.

Zac looked at Vanessa. Vanessa raised her eyebrow.

"We want to focus on taking care of Allie right now. Once we get the hang of everything, then we are going to talk about getting married" Zac explained.

"Oh okay" Dylan said.

Zac, Vanessa, and Dylan talked for a little while until Dylan had to leave. Zac closed the door and sighed. He walked into the kitchen and saw Vanessa cleaning.

"Van, can I talk to you for a minute?" Zac asked as he sat down at the dining room table.

"Sure" Vanessa said.

Vanessa put everything down and walked over to the dining room table and sat down.

"Okay before you get mad and start yelling, hear me out okay?" Zac asked.

"Alright" Vanessa said.

"I feel like every since Allie has been born, our relationship has just gone downhill. I don't know if it's me or the fact that we are trying to get the hang of everything. I know that your feelings toward me have changed" Zac said.

Vanessa folded her hands and looked down at the table. She sighed and looked up at Zac.

"Zac, it's not you. I have just been throwing myself into trying to take care of Allie and being there for her when she needs me. Everything is just spinning in my head and I don't know what I want anymore" Vanessa said as she broke down.

"Do you want to break up?" Zac asked carefully.

"I just need time to think Zac. I don't want to hurt you and it hurts me to do this" Vanessa said as tears ran down her face.

Zac swallowed hard and looked at Vanessa.

"I will give you time to think. I will go upstairs and pack some of my stuff and I will go to my parents house. We will talk later about Allie's schedule and when I will see her" Zac said.

Vanessa nodded.

"Zac?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah?" Zac asked.

"I do love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too, Vanessa" Zac said.

Zac got up and walked upstairs. He packed some of his clothes and took his suitcase to Allie's room. Zac put his suitcase down and picked Allie up. He kissed Allie's head as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Take care of your mom for me Allie. I will see you soon. I love you" Zac said.

Zac carefully put Allie into her crib. He then picked up his suitcase and walked downstairs and saw Vanessa sitting in the kitchen with tears running down her face.

"I will call you later and see how she is doing" Zac said.

"Okay. Zac?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah?" Zac asked.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa said.

Zac sighed.

"I'm sorry too. I will talk to you later" Zac said as he walked out of the house.

Zac put his suitcase into the trunk of his car. He then walked to the driver's side and got in. Zac stared at the steering wheel and let his tears flow freely. He sighed and wiped his tears away. Zac started driving and couldn't believe that the break up actually happened. Not only did Zac leave Vanessa, but he also left his daughter. His heart ached. Zac picked up his phone and dialed his mother's number.

"Hello?" Starla answered.

"Mom? I'm coming home" Zac cried.

"Zac? What happened?" Starla asked.

"Vanessa and I broke up" Zac said.

"What? Oh honey, are you okay?" Starla asked.

"We just have been fighting and it's been really awkward between us. She doesn't want to get married to me. There is just a lot of things going through my head" Zac said.

"Alright sweetheart. I will see you when you get here" Starla said.

Zac and Starla hung up. Zac drove to San Luis Obispo and pulled into his childhood home. He got out the car and took his suitcase out of the trunk. Zac walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, Stella opened the door. Zac sighed.

"Hi Zac" Stella said.

"Hi Stell, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't want to talk about Vanessa and I okay?" Zac said.

"That's fine. I wasn't going to ask" Stella said.

Zac walked into the house and went upstairs to his childhood room and closed the door behind him. Starla came into the kitchen and looked at Stella.

"Did Zac just come in?" Starla asked.

"Yeah, he just went upstairs" Stella said.

"Okay" Starla said.

Starla walked upstairs and knocked on the door.

"Zac, can I come in?" Starla asked.

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now, mom" Zac said.

"Honey, just tell me what happened" Starla said.

Zac got off his bed and opened the door.

"She doesn't want to get married and she doesn't have the same feelings that she used to have for me anymore. My daughter is going to have a broken family" Zac yelled.

"Zac, I know you are upset. But yelling and getting angry isn't going to solve anything honey" Starla said.

"It just hurts" Zac said.

"I know it does. You both will work it out. Take a nap and you will feel much better. I love you" Starla said.

"I love you too mom" Zac said as he hugged his mother.

"Get some sleep" Starla said.

Zac got into bed and fell asleep. A couple hours later, he woke up to his phone ringing. Zac picked it up and looked at the caller ID, which read Vanessa.

"Hello?" Zac answered.

"Hi, are you okay?" Vanessa asked.

"I have been better. How's Allie?" Zac asked.

"She's fine. She just went down for her nap. Did you get to San Luis okay?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, I just got here" Zac said.

"Alright, well I just wanted to know if you got there okay. You know that I care about you because you are Allie's dad" Vanessa said.

Tears fell down Zac's cheeks when he heard that. He sniffled.

"Thanks, when do you want me to come and see her?" Zac asked.

"Do you want to come down this weekend?" Vanessa asked.

"Alright, I will call Dylan and ask him if I can stay there" Zac said.

"Okay, I will talk to you soon" Vanessa said.

"Alright" Zac said.

Vanessa and Zac hung up. Zac sighed and wiped his tears away. He got off his bed and walked out of his bedroom. Zac walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. He saw Stella and walked over to her. Stella looked up.

"Hey, are you okay?" Stella asked.

Zac just hugged Stella. Stella wrapped her arms around Zac and rubbed his back.

"Are you going to tell me what happened between you and Van?" Stella asked.

"We broke up" Zac said.

"What? Why? What about Allie?" Stella asked.

"She didn't want to get married and it got awkward and just all sorts of problems happened. I packed up my stuff and drove over here" Zac said.

"What about Allie?" Stella asked.

"We are trying to figure out when I can see her. Right now the plan is that I am going to go to LA this weekend to see her" Zac said.

"I'm so sorry Zac" Stella said.

"It's not your fault. But thank you for letting the news set in before I told you" Zac said.

Stella smiled.

"You are welcome. You are like my brother Zac. I love you and I want to help you when you are upset" Stella said.

"Thank you. I love you too. I'm going to go upstairs and get some sleep. It's been a long day. Night, Stell. Love you" Zac said as he hugged Stella.

"Good night, Zac. Love you too" Stella said.

Stella watched Zac walk upstairs. She felt horrible for her sister and Zac. Zac hoped that everything would be okay. He felt weird not saying good night to Allie or Vanessa, but this is what Vanessa wanted and he would just have to accept that.


	18. As Long As You Love Me

A couple days later, it was Friday and Zac was going to drive down to Los Angeles to see Vanessa and Allie. He woke up and turned over in bed. Zac sighed. Today was going to go one of two ways. Either everything was going to go okay or it was going to go horribly. Zac got up and picked out his clothes and took a shower. He then walked downstairs and saw his mother in the kitchen.

"Hi honey, what can I make you to eat?" Starla asked.

"Nothing, I'm not hungry" Zac said.

"Are you worried about today?" Starla asked as she sat next to her son at the dining room table.

"A little bit" Zac said.

"Zac, I know it's going to hurt you to see Vanessa right now. But you both need to do what is right for Allie. I know that you want to see her the most. Am I correct?" Starla asked.

"You are correct" Zac said.

"Then focus on Allie. Do not focus on getting back together with Vanessa right now. She said that she needs time, so you need to give her that" Starla said.

"Okay" Zac said.

"Alright, do you still not want anything to eat?" Starla asked.

"No, I have to start driving. But thanks mom, for everything" Zac said.

"I love you Zac and I am your mother. You know I hate when you are hurting" Starla said.

"I love you too mom" Zac said.

Zac left his parent's house and drove to Los Angeles. He pulled up to his and Vanessa's home and parked his car. Zac took a deep breath and got out of the car. He walked to the front door and didn't know if he should unlock the door or ring the doorbell. Zac settled on ringing the doorbell so he wouldn't scare Vanessa. He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door.

"Hi" Vanessa said as she opened the door.

"Hi" Zac said.

"Allie just got up from her nap" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said as he walked into the house.

Zac walked into the living room and smiled when he saw Allie in her portable crib. He walked over to his daughter and picked her up.

"Hi baby, I missed you" Zac said as he kissed Allie's cheek.

"Can I make you some coffee?" Vanessa asked.

"No thanks, I'm fine" Zac said.

"She's been waiting for you to come home" Vanessa said.

Zac looked up from Allie and looked at Vanessa.

"How was she this week?" Zac asked.

"She was an angel, like always. We went to see my mom yesterday" Vanessa said.

"Oh, Stella is in San Luis with Dylan" Zac said.

"Oh" Vanessa said.

"I missed you" Zac said quietly.

"I missed you too" Vanessa said.

Vanessa leaned in and kissed Zac's lips softly and pulled back.

"I'm sorry" Vanessa whispered.

"It's okay, it's a habit. Do you want to talk about us?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded.

"Let me go put her in her crib" Vanessa said as she took Allie out of Zac's arms.

Vanessa walked upstairs and put Allie into her crib and came downstairs. She walked into the living room and sat down.

"I want to make this work, Van. I love you and Allie so much it hurts. If you don't want to get married right now, then we aren't going to get married right now" Zac said.

"Zac, I love you too. I just felt like everything was going a little fast. We just had a baby and all of the sudden marriage came up. It kind of overwhelmed me and I shouldn't have responded like I did. I'm sorry" Vanessa said.

" Over the last couple of days, I looked at the situation from your point of view and can now understand your point. I didn't mean to push you" Zac said.

"So are we okay now?" Vanessa asked.

"We are okay. Come here" Zac said.

Vanessa moved closer to Zac and kissed his lips softly.

"I love you Zac" Vanessa said.

"I love you too baby" Zac said.

"So how was your week?" Vanessa asked.

"Horrible. I didn't sleep at all. It was hard for me to actually realize we were broken up" Zac said.

"But we are back together so you will sleep peacefully tonight" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, has Allie been crying at night?" Zac asked.

"A little bit, but I think she just missed you" Vanessa said.

"I missed her too. I felt horrible not being able to carry her or make her stop crying" Zac said.

"Ashley was going to come over later. We were going to go out to eat, do you want to come?" Vanessa asked.

Ashley Tisdale was Vanessa's best friend. They met on the set of High School Musical (do not own) and have been inseparable ever since.

"Sure, I haven't seen Ashley in a while" Zac said.

"Okay, let me go pump some bottles for Allie" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I love you" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"I love you too baby" Vanessa said.

Vanessa got off the couch and walked upstairs to make Allie's bottles. An hour later, Vanessa was getting Allie ready. She carried Allie into the master bedroom where Zac was getting ready.

"Hey daddy, do I look pretty?" Vanessa asked in her baby voice.

Zac smiled and looked at Vanessa and Allie.

"You look beautiful, Allie and so do you baby" Zac said.

"Thank you. Are you ready to go?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah" Zac said.

"Okay, can you get Allie's bag from the kitchen?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure" Zac said.

The couple and Allie walked downstairs. Zac picked Allie's bag up and the little family left the house. Vanessa put Allie into her car seat and closed the door. She then got into the passenger seat.

"Is she strapped in?" Zac asked.

"Yeah" Vanessa said.

Zac started driving to the restaurant where they were meeting Ashley. He pulled into the parking lot and saw hoards of paparazzi.

"Babe, don't get out of the car yet" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac got out of the car and walked to the back seat and opened the door.

"You need to carry her, babe. They are going to try and get pictures and I don't want them to trample you" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she lifted Allie out of her car seat.

Vanessa got out of the car with Allie in her arms. The couple walked down the street with the paparazzi following them. There was one photographer that got to close and Zac noticed.

"Hey, don't bother us when we are with the baby" Zac yelled.

Allie started to cry. Vanessa rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's okay honey. It's okay" Vanessa said.

The paparazzi were screaming at the couple. Finally, they got to the restaurant and went inside. Vanessa looked at Allie.

"Everything is okay, sweetheart" Vanessa said.

The couple saw Ashley and smiled.

"Hi Nessa! Hi baby" Ashley said as she kissed Vanessa's cheek.

"Hi Ashley" Vanessa said.

"Hi Zac" Ashley said as she hugged Zac.

"Hey Ash" Zac said.

"The paparazzi is insane" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, I know. Did they scare her?" Ashley asked as they sat down at their table.

"Yes, they got into her face" Vanessa said.

"Aw poor baby" Ashley said.

Zac was holding Allie in his arms.

"She looks just like you Zac" Ashley said.

Zac smiled.

"Thanks, but I think she looks more like Vanessa" Zac said.

"How has parenthood been so far?" Ashley asked.

"It's been crazy, but so rewarding. I love waking up every morning and seeing her little face. It definitely has changed me as a person" Zac said.

Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled.

"I agree. We have had some difficult times but I wouldn't change anything. Zac and Allie are my family and I love them with all my heart" Vanessa said.

Zac kissed Vanessa's cheek.

"When are you going to go back to work?" Ashley asked.

"I am going to go back once we both know how to take care of Allie. I don't want to leave Vanessa if we don't know how to take care of her and vice versa" Zac said.

"That's good. I can see that you both have grown closer together since you had Allie" Ashley said.

"Zac is Allie's father and I love him so much. He is an amazing dad to Allie and he is an amazing boyfriend to me" Vanessa said as she looked at Zac.

Zac smiled.

"Vanessa is an amazing mother to Allie. She always knows what she needs and wants. I love her so much and could never see my life without her. She's always been an amazing girlfriend to me" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled and leaned in and kissed Zac's lips. Allie started crying and the couple pulled apart.

"What's wrong honey? Do you need a diaper change? I am going to go change her and I will be back" Vanessa said.

"Alright, take your time Van" Ashley said.

Vanessa picked Allie up and left the table.

"So I heard from Stella that you and Vanessa temporarily broke up" Ashley said.

"Yeah, but now everything is fine. We are back together" Zac said.

"Okay, so are you going to let Allie be in the public eye?" Ashley asked.

"Vanessa and I talked about it and we decided that we need to live our lives. If the paparazzi comes to close or endangers us or Allie, then we will take her out" Zac said.

Vanessa came back with Allie in her arms. She sat down and looked at Ashley.

"She's clean" Vanessa said.

The couple and Ashley talked for a little while longer while they ate. They promised to keep in touch. Zac and Vanessa walked to their car and put a sleeping Allie into her car seat. Zac started driving home.

"It was nice to see Ashley" Vanessa said.

"Yeah" Zac said.

"Stella wants to come over tomorrow and see Allie. Are you free?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, I am free" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac pulled into the driveway and turned off his car.

"I will get her" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac got out of the car and went to the backseat. He opened the door and carefully picked Allie up. The couple walked to the front door. Vanessa unlocked and opened the door.

"I will go put her in bed" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac carried Allie upstairs and put her in her crib. He kissed her head softly.

"I love you baby girl" Zac said.

Zac left the room and walked downstairs. He saw Vanessa putting Allie's bottles into the dishwasher and walked up behind her and kissed her neck.

"Is she asleep?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah" Zac said as he kissed her shoulder.

"Zac, I am not back to normal yet" Vanessa said.

"Baby, yes you are. You look perfect" Zac said.

"I don't feel like I do" Vanessa said.

"Look, come here. I will show you" Zac said as he picked her up and started walking.

"Zac!" Vanessa said laughing.

Zac carried Vanessa upstairs and went to their bedroom and put her down. He pulled her shirt up and made Vanessa look at the mirror.

"That is perfect to me. Yeah, your body has changed, but you have really sexy curves now" Zac said.

"Sexy curves?" Vanessa asked as she looked at her boyfriend.

"Yes Van. You look perfect to me and you always will" Zac said.

Vanessa turned around and looked at Zac.

"I don't know if it's healed yet though" Vanessa said as she turned red.

"Do you want to try? We don't have to, if you don't want to babe" Zac said.

"I want to, it's been a long time. It's just I don't know if I will be in pain or not" Vanessa said.

"Do you want to try and see? If it hurts, then we will stop" Zac said.

"Just be gentle" Vanessa said.

"I will baby, don't worry" Zac said.

Vanessa took off her shirt and helped Zac take off his. Zac then unbuttoned Vanessa's jeans and slid them off. Vanessa took Zac's pants off and looked into Zac's eyes.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

Zac leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips passionately. He lifted her into his arms. Vanessa wrapped her legs around Zac's waist. The couple fell on the bed and Zac started making a line of kisses down Vanessa's neck. Vanessa moaned and Zac looked at Vanessa.

"You ready?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded. Zac entered Vanessa and she gripped his shoulders. The couple made love for hours. After they finished, Zac and Vanessa were lying in bed with their fingers entwined with each others.

"Did I hurt you baby?" Zac asked.

"Not at all. I love you" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips.

"I love you too" Zac said.

Allie started crying and Zac looked up.

"Don't move, I will get her" Zac said.

Zac got up and walked down the hall to Allie's room.

"What's wrong baby? Do you need a diaper change?" Zac asked the infant.

Zac picked Allie up and walked over to the changing table and carefully lied Allie down on it. He opened her diaper and threw it away.

"No wonder you are crying sweetheart. Don't worry, daddy will make you feel better" Zac said.

Zac changed Allie's diaper and carried her down the hall and into the bedroom. Vanessa smiled and reached her arms out.

"Hi Allie" Vanessa said.

Zac placed Allie into Vanessa's arms.

"Did you change her diaper?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, she should be good for a couple hours" Zac said.

"I forgot to tell you, my manager called me yesterday" Vanessa said.

"Oh, and what did she say?" Zac asked as she looked at Allie.

"She said that she got a call from a producer saying that he wants to make an album with me" Vanessa said.

"Honey, that's great. Are you going to take it?" Zac asked.

"I don't know yet. I wanted to run it by you and see what you thought" Vanessa said.

"I think it's an amazing opportunity for you babe. I want you to take it" Zac said.

"But what if you get signed to do a movie, who will take care of Allie? That's what I am thinking about" Vanessa said.

"Well, since I said I was going to take a break because I wanted to be with you and Allie, I have time. I am so happy for you" Zac said.

"Thank you" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

"But the question is, what are we going to do when you go on tour? Do you want us to go with you or what do you want to do?" Zac asked.

"I want you guys to come with me. I don't want to be away from either of you for a long period of time" Vanessa said.

"Okay, when do you start working on the album?" Zac asked.

"I have to go into the studio on Monday and meet with my manager and the producer" Vanessa said.

"Okay. I love you and I am so proud of you" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's lips.

"Thank you. I love you too" Vanessa said.

"Have you thought of what you want for this album?" Zac asked.

"I want it to be about how I have changed. I was the little High School Musical (do not own) girl and now I have a daughter with my boyfriend. We have had hard times but we have also have good times. What do you think?" Vanessa asked.

"I like the idea a lot. Maybe this could reinvent your whole persona as a musician" Zac said.

"Maybe, I have to start going to the gym though. I need to start losing the baby weight for my album cover" Vanessa said as she looked down at her stomach.

"You just need to tone, that's all" Zac said.

"I want my body to go back to what it used to be" Vanessa said.

"Okay, just don't overdo it babe" Zac said.

"I won't. Come on, we have work to do" Vanessa said.

"What work do we have to do?" Zac asked.

"I need to feed Allie and then my mom wants to babysit her for a while, which is perfect because then we can go to the gym" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

Allie whined.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Vanessa asked as she kissed Allie's head.

"Come on, I will feed her and you go get ready" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac and Vanessa got out of bed and went their separate ways. Twenty minutes later, Vanessa came downstairs and Zac holding Allie, who was asleep.

"She just fell asleep" Zac said.

"Here, give her to me, and you go change" Vanessa said.

Zac put Allie into Vanessa's arms. He then walked upstairs and changed into his workout clothes.

"Alright, are you ready to go?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, let's go" Zac said as he picked up Allie's bag.

The little family left the house and drove to the Hudgens' home. Zac parked his car and got out and unbuckled Allie from her car seat and carried her out of the car. The couple walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. Gina opened the door and smiled.

"My granddaughter is here!" Gina said happily.

"Hi mom" Vanessa said.

"Hi Van" Gina said as she took Allie out of Zac's arms.

"We will be back in a couple hours. Thank you for watching her" Vanessa said.

"Alright" Gina said.

Vanessa and Zac left the house and got into the car.

"So you want to do my work out right?" Zac asked.

"Yeah because you get back into shape fast and that's what I need" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said as he drove to the gym.

Zac pulled into the parking lot and turned his car off. The couple got out of the car and entwined their fingers together and walked into the gym. Zac walked over to the treadmill and started running and Vanessa did the same.

"Okay, we are going to do abs" Zac said.

"Alright" Vanessa said as the couple sat on the mats.

Zac instructed Vanessa on how to do his ab work out. Once, Vanessa finished, she fell against the mat.

"Ow" Vanessa said.

"Just take it slow, babe. Don't push yourself too hard" Zac said.

"I just want to burn the weight off fast" Vanessa said.

"I know, but if you push yourself too hard, you can get injured and we don't want that" Zac said.

"It's going to take forever" Vanessa said.

"Babe, don't think like that. The weight will come off. You just need to do it slowly" Zac said.

Vanessa sighed and nodded. The couple left the gym an hour later. They drove to Hudgens' home and picked Allie up. Zac and Vanessa knew that they would be able to get through anything, as long as they did it together.


	19. A Lot Of Surprises

A couple days later, Vanessa had a meeting with her manager and the producer of a major record label that would be releasing her new album once it was finished. She was upstairs getting ready when Zac came into the room with Allie in his arms.

"You look beautiful babe. I don't see the point of putting on makeup when you are beautiful without it" Zac said as he kissed her head.

Vanessa looked at Zac and sighed and continued putting her makeup on.

"The point is that this meeting could get my career back on track and it could land several opportunities for me and for us as a family. I want to look my best. How do I look?" Vanessa asked as she turned around.

"You look beautiful" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled and kissed Zac's lips.

"I have to go. If you need anything, call me. I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

The couple walked downstairs and Vanessa left the house. Vanessa drove to her manager's office and parked her car. She took a deep breath and released it. Vanessa got out of the car and walked into her manager, Nicole's office.

"Hey there, take a seat. Vanessa, this is Ben. He is a producer with the label that you will be working with" Nicole said.

"Hi" Vanessa said as she shook Ben's hand.

"Hi Vanessa, Nicole was telling me on the phone that you want to start up your music career again" Ben said.

"Yes, I just had a baby and I took a break for a little while so I could focus on her and everything" Vanessa said.

"What kind of music were you interested in doing?" Ben asked.

"I wanted to go back to what I was doing, which was pop and rock music but I wanted to sing about how far I have come and what I have achieved since I started" Vanessa said.

"I like the idea. We would like to the album cover first so we can have some idea of what the album is going to be like. I don't mean to sound harsh but I suggest that you lose a couple pounds so that the pictures come out the way you want them" Ben said.

Vanessa's eyes widened and she was speechless.

"Um yeah. I will lose the weight as fast as I can" Vanessa said.

"Great, it was a pleasure meeting with you" Ben said as he shook Vanessa's hand.

"It was a pleasure meeting you too" Vanessa said.

Vanessa left Nicole's office and got into her car. She sighed. Vanessa drove home and got out of the car. She unlocked the door and walked into the house. Vanessa went into the living room where Zac was and sat down.

"How did your meeting go?" Zac asked.

"My producer told me that I need to lose weight for the album cover" Vanessa said.

"What?" Zac asked.

"I almost said that. How am I going to lose thirty pounds in a month?" Vanessa asked.

Zac wrapped his arm around Vanessa's waist.

"Do you want to work out with me? You will lose the weight in no time, honey. Don't worry about it" Zac said.

"What if I can't do it?" Vanessa asked as she broke down.

"Baby, everything is going to be fine okay? You just need to step up your workout routine and you will be fine. Do you want to start tomorrow?" Zac asked.

Vanessa nodded.

"Okay" Zac said as he kissed Vanessa's cheek softly.

The next morning, Zac and Vanessa went to the gym. Vanessa was determined to lose weight. The couple walked into the gym and Zac helped Vanessa workout. Three hours later, Vanessa had sweat dripping down her face and was out of breath. Zac was ready to go but saw Vanessa still running on the treadmill.

"Van, I think you did enough today. You don't want to overdo it" Zac said.

"No, I am going to keep going" Vanessa said.

"Babe, you can't push it" Zac said.

Vanessa kept running. Zac pressed the stop button on the machine and Vanessa stopped running.

"What are you doing?" Vanessa asked.

"You can't do that, Van. You are going to kill yourself for a picture" Zac said.

Vanessa got off the treadmill and instantly felt dizzy. She fell until Zac caught her in his arms.

"We are going home. This is isn't healthy" Zac said as he helped Vanessa walk out of the gym.

The couple walked out of the gym. Zac helped Vanessa get into the car. He then went to the driver's side and got in. Zac looked at Vanessa.

"I'm not trying to make you mad, Van. I just want you to be safe while you are doing this. It's going to take time to lose the weight" Zac said.

"You don't understand how much this means to me. I want this album to be perfect. My body, music, and everything has to be perfect" Vanessa said as she broke down.

Zac's face softened.

"Babe, I know this is important to you. But it's only your first day of working out. It's going to take time. I understand that you want everything to be perfect, but you need to do this in a healthy way" Zac said.

"This sucks" Vanessa said as she leaned her head against the window.

"If you workout for a couple weeks, you will start seeing some progress. We have Allie, Van. You can't do something to yourself that can harm you in the long run" Zac said as he drove.

"I know, it's just important to me" Vanessa said.

"I know it is. But, think of Allie" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac drove to the Hudgens' home and parked his car. The couple got out of the car and walked to the front door. Vanessa rang the doorbell. Gina opened the door and smiled.

"Hi, how was Allie?" Vanessa asked.

"She was an angel as always. How was the gym?" Gina asked the couple as they walked in.

"It was alright" Vanessa said.

"Vanessa is trying to lose weight for her album cover photo shoot" Zac said.

Vanessa looked at Zac.

"Honey, just do it safely" Gina said.

"I am going to do what I have to. I need this record deal, mom. It's not just for me, it's for Allie too" Vanessa said.

"Okay. I am just saying lose the weight safely and not all at once" Gina said.

"Alright. Where's Allie?" Vanessa asked, changing the subject.

"She's asleep" Gina said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

The couple followed Gina into the living room where Allie was sleeping soundly. Vanessa picked Allie up and heard her cry.

"Sh baby. It's okay" Vanessa said.

"Thank you for watching her Gina" Zac said.

"No problem" Gina said.

The couple left the Hudgens' home and Vanessa put Allie in her car seat. She then got into the car and looked at Zac.

"Let's go home" Vanessa said.

Zac started driving, occasionally looking at Vanessa. He knew Vanessa wanted to look her best for her album cover, but he didn't want her to lose the weight unsafely. Zac pulled into the driveway and parked his car. The couple got out of the car and went to the backseat and got Allie out. Vanessa walked to the front door with Allie in her arms. Zac opened the door and the little family walked in. Vanessa walked upstairs and went into Allie's room. She put Allie in her crib and kissed her head.

"I love you baby girl" Vanessa said.

Vanessa left the room and walked downstairs. Zac was making a sandwich when Vanessa walked in. He turned around and looked at Vanessa.

"Do you want me to make you a sandwich?" Zac asked.

"No" Vanessa said.

"You need to eat something, Van. You just burned a lot of calories" Zac said.

"I'm not hungry" Vanessa said.

Zac crossed his arms across his chest.

"Vanessa, you can't let a picture get in the way of your life. Yes, it's important. I know. But, you need to eat. You can't starve yourself" Zac said.

"I will just gain the weight back" Vanessa said.

"You need to eat, end of story" Zac said handing her a plate with a sandwich.

"Fine" Vanessa said.

Vanessa took a bite of the sandwich and looked at Zac.

"I have to start recording next week" Vanessa said changing the subject.

"Good. Do you want me to come?" Zac asked.

"I want you to stay here with Allie. I don't want her to cry or have something happen when I am in the studio" Vanessa said.

"Okay" Zac said.

"I'm seriously going to gain all the weight back because I am eating this" Vanessa said as she ate her sandwich.

"You will burn it off, babe. You need protein" Zac said.

Zac heard Allie cry and dropped what he was doing and went upstairs. He walked into Allie's room. Zac picked Allie up.

"What's wrong baby? Do you need a diaper change?" Zac asked as he carried Allie to the changing table.

Zac lied Allie down on the table and opened her diaper. He quickly changed his daughter's diaper and lifted her into his arms.

"There you are all better" Zac said.

Allie started crying again and Zac sighed.

"I changed you and you just ate, Allie. What else do you want honey?" Zac asked.

Zac walked over to the rocking chair in Allie's room. He sat down and looked at Allie.

_Na na na na  
Na na na na yeah  
You are the music in me_

_You know the words Once Upon A Time  
Make you listen.  
There's a reason._

_When you dream there's a chance you'll find  
A little laughter or a happy ever after_

_Your harmony to the melody  
It's echoing inside my head_

_A single voice (Single voice)  
Above the noise_

_And like a common thread  
Hmm, you're pulling me_

_When I hear my favorite song  
I know that we belong  
Oh, you are the music in me_

Vanessa smiled as she leaned against the door. Zac looked up and smiled.

"You still have your voice" Vanessa said.

"Yeah" Zac said.

"Is she okay?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, she just wanted her daddy to sing to her" Zac said as she looked at a sleeping Allie.

Vanessa walked over to Zac and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you too" Zac said.

"Come on, let's get some sleep" Vanessa said as she took Zac's hand.

The couple walked out of Allie's room and went into their bedroom. Vanessa sat on the bed and looked at Zac.

"Zac?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah babe?" Zac asked.

"I have a question for you" Vanessa said.

"Okay, what's that?" Zac asked.

"Marry me?" Vanessa asked as she looked at Zac.

Zac looked at Vanessa.

"What?" Zac asked confused.

"You heard me. Zac, I love you. We have gone through so much together. I couldn't see my life without you and Allie. I want us to be a family" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and took Vanessa's hand in his.

"Did you just propose to me?" Zac asked incredulously.

Vanessa giggled.

"Yes! Now, am I going to get an answer anytime soon?" Vanessa joked.

"Yes, I will marry you. But, I thought I was supposed to be the one that proposed to you?" Zac asked.

"I wanted to mix it up a little bit" Vanessa said as she wrapped her arms around Zac's neck.

Zac smiled and leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips passionately. Vanessa pulled back and smiled. She ran her fingers through Zac's hair.

"I love you" Vanessa said.

"I love you more" Zac said.

"That is not possible. Wait a minute, we are engaged" Vanessa said.

Zac smiled and nodded.

"We are getting married" Zac said.

"Are you happy?" Vanessa asked.

Zac kissed Vanessa's lips.

"Of course I am. When are we going to tell our parents and what about rings?" Zac asked.

"We can call them later and tell them to come over here and we will announce it. The rings we should probably get before our parents come so they know it's not a joke" Vanessa said.

"Alright, but when we get the rings, I will propose to you" Zac said.

Vanessa smiled.

"Okay, I am going to call our parents" Vanessa said.

"Okay baby" Zac said.

Vanessa kissed Zac's lips and walked downstairs to call their parents. That night, the doorbell rang and Zac walked to the front door and opened it and smiled.

"Hi honey" Starla said.

"Hi mom" Zac said as he hugged his mother.

The Efron family walked into the living room and sat down.

"What's the big news, Zaccy?" Stella asked as she sat next to Dylan.

"I can't tell you yet, Stell. Your parents aren't here yet" Zac said.

The doorbell rang and Vanessa opened the door and smiled when she saw her parents. Gina and Greg hugged and kissed their daughter and walked into the living room and hugged and kissed Starla and David.

"What's the big news, Van? Please don't tell me your pregnant again already" Gina said.

"No, I am not pregnant. Zac and I are engaged" Vanessa said.

"What?" both families asked.

"It's a very funny story" Zac said.

"I proposed to Zac" Vanessa said.

"You proposed?" Starla asked.

"Yes, we have been talking about getting married for a while and I have been saying that I didn't want to yet. So earlier today, I caught Zac off guard and asked him to marry me" Vanessa explained.

The two families all cheered and celebrated. They were so happy that Zac and Vanessa were getting married. That night, Vanessa carried a sleeping Allie upstairs and put her in her crib.

"I love you Allie" Vanessa said as she kissed her head.

Vanessa walked out of Allie's room and went into the master bedroom. She kissed Zac's cheek softly.

"Hi" Vanessa said.

"Hi" Zac said.

"So fiancée, what is the plan for tomorrow?" Vanessa asked.

"Well fiancée, I was thinking we could have a little date night. Just the two of us" Zac said.

"What are we going to do with Allie?" Vanessa asked.

"Dylan said that he wants to babysit her" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Zac and Vanessa got into bed. Vanessa kissed Zac's lips passionately.

"Night" Vanessa said.

"Night baby" Zac said.

The couple fell asleep. The next morning Vanessa woke up and saw that Zac was gone. She got up and walked down the hall to Allie's room. Vanessa looked into her daughter's room and saw that she was gone. She then walked downstairs and went into the kitchen and smiled. Zac was feeding Allie in his arms. Vanessa leaned against the door frame and watched the father daughter interaction. Zac felt like he was being watched and looked up and smiled.

"Hey" Zac said.

"Hey" Vanessa said as she walked into the kitchen and sat next to Zac.

"Allie's almost done with her bottle" Zac said.

"Okay, did you change her diaper?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes I did" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said as she kissed Zac's lips.

"Good morning" Zac said.

"Good morning" Vanessa said as she leaned her head on Zac's shoulder.

"Dylan is coming at six" Zac said.

"Okay" Vanessa said.

Allie made a noise and Zac looked at his daughter.

"Hi sweetheart" Zac said as he looked at Allie.

"Give her to me" Vanessa said as she opened her arms.

Zac put Allie into Vanessa's arms.

"Hi Allie, you are going to hang out with your Uncle Dylan tonight so your daddy and I can go out and maybe even have sex" Vanessa whispered.

"I heard that" Zac said laughing.

Vanessa smiled.

"Good" Vanessa said.

Zac walked upstairs and got into the shower. A couple hours later, the doorbell rang and Zac walked to the front door and opened it.

"Hey" Zac said as he shook his brother's hand.

"Hey, where's Allie?" Dylan asked.

"Vanessa is changing her diaper I think" Zac said.

"Oh okay. So how's fatherhood going?" Dylan asked.

"It's going well. I love Allie so much, it's crazy. Every day I wake up with a smile on my face because I get to be with my girls all day" Zac said.

"You would do anything for them" Dylan said.

"Exactly. So how is Stella?" Zac asked.

"She's good, we are good. Everything is fine. The paparazzi is now asking us when we are going to have a baby because you guys did" Dylan said.

Zac shook his head.

"Don't get Stella pregnant right now. If you guys become serious and want to get married , then you can start having sex. But not now" Zac said.

"Alright" Dylan said.

Vanessa came into the living room with Allie.

"Dylan, she's all ready for you. In her bedroom, there are diapers, wipes, and extra clothes if she needs it. She usually cries around five and when she does, give her a bottle. Allie's bed time is seven" Vanessa said.

"Got it, now get out of here guys. Go have some fun. Don't worry about us" Dylan said as Vanessa put Allie into his arms.

"Alright, call us if you need anything" Zac said as he kissed Allie's head softly.

"I will" Dylan said.

Zac and Vanessa left the house. The couple got into the car and looked at each other.

"She will be fine, Van. Don't worry" Zac said.

"I'm not worried" Vanessa said.

Zac started driving to Vanessa's favorite restaurant and parked his car. The couple got out of the car and entwined their fingers together and walked into the restaurant. They got a table and sat down.

"Our first time alone since Allie was born" Zac said as he took Vanessa's hand in his.

"Yeah, so when do you have to start filming again?" Vanessa asked.

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about. My director called me and asked me that" Zac said.

"When do you want to go back?" Vanessa asked.

"It's your decision, babe. Do you feel like you can take care of Allie by yourself?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, I think I can do it. It will be hard without you here, but it will be fine" Vanessa said.

"Okay, and you can always call my parents or yours and see if they could watch her, so you can get a break" Zac said.

"I know" Vanessa said.

"I will call the director tomorrow and talk about when I should go back" Zac said.

"Okay" Zac said.

The rest of the night, Zac and Vanessa enjoyed each others company and went home. They were so happy that their love was so strong for one another and how much they had grown since Allie was born.


End file.
